


Mao Mao: The Hero Without an Arm

by ShadowBanking101



Series: Mao Mao: The Hero Without an Arm [1]
Category: Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart (Cartoon)
Genre: AU made by SpookyLovesBoba, Action/Adventure, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Based on that really old AU from Spooky's old blog, Depression, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Lots of emotions to be honest, M/M, MissingArm!AU, Romance, Slow Burn, Swearing, Very Long Fic, graphic depictions, lots of fanon, only occasional glances at canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-04 15:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21199634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowBanking101/pseuds/ShadowBanking101
Summary: MissingArm!AU: When escaping the cave, it wasn't his tail that got crushed. In exchange for his innocence, he gained a sordid past. The Pure Heart Valley seemed like a good place to escape. To start a new life with a new family to forge a new identity. However, when the past rears its ugly head Mao Mao's forced to step up or be put down.





	1. Don't Look Away

**Author's Note:**

> This was a little thing I did using @spookylovesboba MissingArm! AU. It’s been a while since I last wrote fanfic (like two years) but this was pretty fun. There wasn’t much to go on The AU gave a lot of room to invert the themes of the original source which was fun. Do check out SpookyLovesBoba on Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube. If you haven't already, you should check out the MMHOPH fandom on Tumblr It's a wacky place that I am quite fond of.

Mao Mao polished Geraldine, holding the sword in his right hand, holding the handle with his tail. Every so often he would turn towards the silent monster alarm before he went back to pointlessly polishing his sword. Badgerclops and Adorabat were out getting… Ice cream, was it? He wasn’t paying much attention when they left. Maybe he should have joined them and actually done something with his day. The monster alarm wasn’t giving him anything to do. 

Ring! Ring! Ring! 

Or maybe it was. He grabbed his sword and headed out the door and headed back in when he realized that it wasn’t the monster alarm. The ringing was coming from the backroom. Covered in dust, hidden in the shadows, was the home phone. Mao Mao slowly walked up to the phone, mind already racing with the unfortunate possibilities. Was it going to be one of his sisters? Probably not, he never gave them his number. Was it going to be his father? Definitely not, Mao Mao almost found the idea of him finally calling comical. Almost. 

Mao Mao reached for the phone,” hello?” 

“Is this… sheriff, Mao Mao?” 

The voice on the other end was faked, although there was something to it he could almost recognize. 

“Who is this,” Mao Mao asked. 

“Your reckoning. I am here to destroy everything you hold dear! I am here to make sure you get what’s coming to you! I am-” 

“-Going to stay out of the mayo,” Mao Mao interrupted. “Dammit Pinky, quit prank calling the sheriff’s department!” 

Mao Mao slammed the phone back down without even letting him finish. “Need to have the number changed again,” he said to himself. 

He sheathed his sword and headed for the door. He might as well explore the town. It was better than getting prank called by Pinky. 

* * * 

“He just hung up on me. The ass just hung up on me!” The stranger threw the phone on the ground, growling in frustration. “Can’t even let me threaten him right. Prick won’t let me do anything!” 

“Hey, that was our phone.” 

“Shut it!” The Stranger snapped, voice echoing throughout the Sky Pirates ship. 

Orangusnake didn’t know what to think of this man. Kid more like. He couldn’t have been much older than 16 maybe 17. He was a cat with mostly white fur, save for a patch of black here and there. He was a little taller than the sheriff and even sounded like the sheriff. The only thing the kid had that Mao Mao didn’t was both arms. If he closed his eyes he could easily imagine it was an extremely vulgar version of Mao Mao. 

“So whadda we do now, boss,” Ratarang asked. 

“Well, -uh, first we’ll…” 

“You’ll shut the hell up and let me do my thing,” the stranger said. 

“Hey! You can’t just come to MY ship. And start disrespecting MY crew.” 

“I can when I’ve already beat the crap out of you and tied you up.” 

“You haven’t even beat us up!” 

“Do you want me to?” 

Orangusnake was about to tell him to try it, but the kid’s eyes reminded him of Mao Mao on a bad day. 

“Fine! But you said you could get rid of the blasted sheriff for us, so you better do it.”

“Don’t throw a bitch-fit, I have a plan.”

* * * 

Mao Mao arrived in the town on foot because Badgerclops had to take the aerocycle. He walked through the streets making sure everything was under control. Occasionally he called out their names, but he got no response. It was quit. Too quiet. The town wasn’t on fire, Pigguns hasn’t tried to run him over, and there was no trail of mayo from Pinky. Something was horribly wrong. Did it only affect the sweetie pies? Was it the Sky Pirates? A monster? Did whatever happen also effect the King? Mao Mao gritted his teeth and began to run to the castle. 

He ran as fast as he could up the castle steps. He could hear chatter get louder and louder until he finally kicked down the door. 

“My door,” the king exclaimed, but Mao Mao ignored him. He had to take a minute to wonder what exactly he was seeing. 

The entire kingdom was caught in a net with a misshapen piano hanging above them like it was some sort of cartoon. The group Horde Gaggle Headache of sweetie pies all began to speak at once. 

“Quiet!” 

The headache finally fell silent letting Mao Mao think. He pointed his sword at the King. 

“Speak,” he said. 

“Sheriff, get me out of this mess these… ruffians are disgusting.” 

“What happened? Why you are in a net?” 

“Oh, help me! Help me! Help Me! Help me! The pink… thing is getting closer!” 

Mao Mao was tempted to let the King sit there and deal with Pinky however, he did sign his paychecks, so he had to do something. He took a few steps back before he began to run towards the net, pushing it with his one arm as the Piano began to fall. One swing with Geraldine and the leaf was in two pieces? What? Was Tanya behind this? Was she the one that kidnapped the sweetie pies? Did she do all of that just to mess with him? Why?

Mao Mao was moving towards the net when he noticed that the leaf wasn’t green. It was red. A nice fall red. 

“Sheriff! SHERIFF!” 

The King’s screams snapped him out the daze. He walked over to the net and grabbed the king by the collar. 

“Who did this,” he asked. 

“Who? I don’t know, just let me out-”

“Who did this,” he asked again.

“I said I don’t know, now get me-” 

“What did he look like?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. A black and white cat, maybe. A lot like you, actually.” 

Mao Mao let go of the king with a huff. He turned to the door and began to walk to the door.

“Don’t forget about me. Sheriff? Sheriff? Cut me loose…Please,” the King asked, Mao Mao’s mind too busy to hear; his mind buzzed with thoughts and old memories. 

* * * 

“So, uh, care to tell me what exactly is going on?” 

The Stranger looked up at his captives. One was a rather large badger with an eyepatch and a little blue bat. He knew the bear was Badgerclops although he didn’t know the small one. He expected it would take more than a half-assed ice-cream stand to catch them, but it seemed to work.

“What’s going on is that you’ll both sit there quietly and wait for him to show up.” 

“Who's he,” the blue one asked. 

“I don’t know, maybe I would if someone would tell me what’s going on!” 

Orangusnake slunk up to the captives with a wicked smile. “What’s going on is-” 

“Nobody shutting the hell up. That’s what’s going on,” The Stranger mumbled. 

“Okay, why are you so rude? I let you into my ship! Then you start yelling at everybody! What do you want?”

“First off, you don’t ‘let’ me be anywhere. I can do what I want and you certainly can’t stop me. Secondly, I’m not rude you all are just insufferable. Lastly, what I want is to finally give Mao Mao what he deserves.” 

“And what is that?” 

The Stranger just smiled and took out more leaves. A flick of the wrist and a puff of smoke turned them into poorly made dolls of Mao Mao, Badgerclops, the blue one and himself. 

“What are those?” 

“The important people.” 

“We aren’t I there,” Orangusnake said. 

“Dude, I literally just said it’s the important people.” 

“That… that hurts.” 

The Stranger rolled his eyes going back to his dolls. “First, I kidnap you two. Already done that. Then he shows up and we beat him up. Once he’s all nice and bruised we bury him alive. Let’s see how he likes being locked up without anyone to help him.” 

The Stranger let out a cackling laugh. 

“You’re a lot like your dad. You know that,” Badgerclops said. 

The laughter suddenly stopped. “What would you know?” 

“I mean, you’re Jǐngtì Mao, right? Mao Mao’s son?” 

Everyone turned to the Stranger. He squinted his eyes, pushing a finger into Badgerclops’ face. “Okay, its Jǐngtì Keys actually.” 

The blue thing’s eyes lit up like stars. “Oh my gosh! You’re Mao Mao’s Kid! WhatshelikeWhereyou’vebeenIsn’thethecoolestwhoseyourmom- wait, if you’re Mao Mao’s kid then why’d you kidnap us?” 

“Well, you see… Blue thing. Mao Mao is… awful. So, I’m going to make use of the only way he taught me to deal with my problems: bury it deep deep down and hope it never comes back up. And by that I mean I'm going to bury him alive." 

"I think you're being a little too literal with that," Badgerclops said. 

"Perhaps, but that is the hill I'm dying on. Well, I suppose I should say it's the hole I'm staying in?"

“That doesn’t sound very heroic," Adorabat said. 

“Well, you see that would be a problem if I was a hero, fortunately, I’m not so I don’t have to worry about shit.” 

“If Mao Mao’s your dad then who’s your mom,” Orangusnake asked. 

“Tanya Keys.” 

“Who.” 

“What do you mean who? She was here, like, last week.” 

“Never met her.” 

“Really? Tanuki. Did the stuff with the leaves. I mean you should’ve met her, she’s a bounty hunter.” 

“These guys don’t have bounties on their heads,” Badgerclops added from the back. 

Jǐngtì turned to the pirates then back to Badgerclops. “Aren’t they pirates.” 

“Sky Pirates,” Orangusnake added from the back. 

“Yeah, but they suck so we never really placed bounties.” 

“We’re right here.” 

“Damn, I thought they were strong because mom didn’t catch them.” 

“Nope. They’re bottom of the barrel.”

“We’re still right here.” 

“Why do I even have these guys then?” 

Everyone turned when they heard a loud bang. “Open up Jǐngtì! I know you’re here.” 

“They may not be fighters, but I suppose they can be cannon fodder.” 

* * * 

Mao Mao kept knocking on the hull of the Sky Pirates ship. His one good hand was starting to hurt when the door finally opened a tad. Jǐngtì poked his head over the door, his face covered with the purple bandanna. 

“Son.” 

“You.” 

“It’s been a while.”

“Four years and 156 days. Believe me, I’ve been counting.” 

“How are you even out of jail?” 

“Mom paid bail.” 

“All of it?”

“What do you think she was so desperate for bounties?” 

Mao Mao sighed and scratched his ears. “If you stop know we can have this kidnapping stuff all blow over, so just get down here.” 

“You can’t make me.” 

“Yes, I can.” 

“There’s just one of you and six, maybe seven if you count the snake-monkey as two different people.” 

“You mean the Sky Pirates?” 

“Yeah.” 

Mao Mao raised an eyebrow.”Really? You’re just scraping up wood chips. I beat them once a week, twice if I need to blow off some steam.” 

“See! That’s the shit I can’t stand. You pretend to be better than everyone else when you’re just as awful!” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I make one mistake and you just throw me into jail. You didn’t even try to help me. You complain about your dad when you’re not better.” 

Mao Mao didn’t know words could hit that hard. He felt all the wind leave his lungs and pain in his chest. He clenched his fist and closed his eyes before looking up again. “You can’t just do things without consequences. You can’t just do wrongs and expect no justice.” 

“You’re right,” Jǐngtì said,” so let me fucking bury you alive.” 

“Please get down here. And stop cursing, Adorabat’s only six.” 

“The blue thing?” 

Mao Mao nodded.

Jǐngtì turned over his shoulder then back to his father, looking him dead in the eyes. “Shit, ass, fuck, motherfucker, bitch-” 

Jǐngtì certainly inherited his obstinance. He climbed up and swung the back of his blade at Jǐngtì. He dodged the attack, stepping forward to bring down his knife. Mao Mao stuck his sword in the floor, freeing his hand to catch Jǐngtì’s wrist. 

“-cock, fucker, and motherfucker.”

“You said motherfucker twice.” 

“Well, I am fighting you so I guess it was on my mind.”

Jǐngtì pulled a bomb from his bag forcing Mao Mao to jump back. When the fuse burned out the bomb just turned back into a leaf.

“Pirates!” Jǐngtì called out.

Mao Mao was forced to let go and quickly step out of the way of Rammaraffe, he was pushed back by an egg-bomb from boss-hostrich, a small head-tilt was enough to dodge Ratarang. Orangusnake let out a battle cry, leaping forward with battleax brandished. He couldn’t win like this. He dashed underneath Orangusnake, and reached for Geraldine. When the sword was nearly in his grasp it was pulled away. 

“How does it feel to be disarmed again,” Jǐngtì asked. 

“You’re like really mean, you know that?” 

Jǐngtì gave Badgerclops the side-eye before transforming with a large puff of smoke. “Meh meh meh meh meh, that’s what you sound like,” he said. 

“Hurtful, but why’d you turn into modern art?” 

Jǐngtì raised an eyebrow,” what do you mean modern art I’m supposed to be you.” 

“That’s supposed to be… me?” 

Badgerclops laughed. He laughed and laughed as Jǐngtì’s frustration grew and grew until he exploded in a puff of smoke. “You know what! I don’t see you doing magic! You don’t get to criticize me for doing mine!” 

Mao Mao pinched the bridge of his nose.“ Badgerclops, quit arguing with an actual child and free yourself. Also, hand my sword while you’re at it.” 

“Can’t tied up.” 

“Quit being lazy. You know that’s not even a rope. It’s just a leaf.” 

Badgerclops rolled his eyes and stood up, popping the rope around with a puff of smoke. He pointed his arm right at Jǐngtì. “You’re both very demanding you know that?” 

“I suppose I’ll just try burying him alive another time.” 

Jǐngtì pushed Badgerclops arm up. A single misfire blasted a hole right through the Sky Pirate’s ship. He grabbed Adorabat without hesitation, jumping off Badgerclop’s face to start climbing towards the exit. Mao Mao called his son’s name, quickly following after. They climbed to the top of the airship. Jǐngtì held Adorabt in one arm. The wind howled in their ears. 

“That’s enough, Jǐngtì.” 

“Enough of what?” 

“Enough of all this. You have to stop.” 

“Why? Why should I?” 

“Because you literally held an entire kingdom hostage. You teamed up with the Sky Pirates. You’re just becoming a villain.” 

“Like father like son, I guess.” 

“Jǐngtì just… just stop before this goes too far.” 

Mao Mao walked forward while Jǐngtì kept walking back. 

“Before I too far? I already thought I did go too far back in Queens Putland.” 

“You stole from the monarch and stole their crown! You can’t just do that and expect nothing of it!” 

“So, I guess it’s justified to leave me in jail without even trying to post bail. I guess it’s fine to just up and move on with your life like you didn’t spend 13 whole fucking years with them! Instead, you fuck off and replace me with… this!” 

He shook Adorabat around like a ragdoll. “Careful!” Mao Mao shouted as he took a tentative step forward. 

“Listen I get it I… am a hypocrite, certainly not the best father, but that’s no excuse to do any of this.” 

“Shut up! Just shut up!” Jǐngtì reached into his pouch throwing leaf after leaf. 

Some turned into bikes, others into furniture, pianos and anything heavy. It didn’t slow Mao Maod down; he just cut them down one after the other. The final thing he threw was also the largest. A massive boulder that belonged at the slope of a mountain hurled through the air. Mao Mao simply raised his hand, simply grabbing onto it so tightly that it popped.

“Are you done?” 

“No, I’m not done! I never will be until you finally get your shit together! Put action to your words, and try, for once in your life, to do something right!” 

It happened in an instant. A step back when nothing was there. Jǐngtì fell back, too surprised to even scream. 

Mao Mao lunged forward grabbing onto his wrist.

To his horror, Jǐngtì seemed genuinely surprised. “Why?” 

“Does a man have to give a reason to protect his own children?”

The look in Jǐngtì’s eyes gave him hope. Hope that maybe mistakes can be fixed, or at least worked past. He helped Jǐngtì to his feet and placed his hand on his shoulder. Jǐngtì refused to look him in the eye, but he didn’t shrug it off. 

Without warning, he threw down one of Adorabat’s bombs. A cloud of smoke filled the air. When the smoke cleared he was holding Adorabat and Jǐngtì was nowhere to be seen. 

“Mao Mao,” Adorabat said. 

“Hm?” 

“What was that?” 

Mao Mao took a deep breath as he searched for the right way to phrase it. “Adorabat, we all have to deal with the consequences of our actions. You can’t just forget about them, lest we start to hurt the people we’re close to.” 

“Did you forget him, Mao Mao?” 

“You know what? I never could. I never even wanted to. I hope he knows that.” 

A loud crash shook the ship. Badgerclops helicoptered out through a brand new, much larger, hole with his arm cannon at full charge. “Alright daddy issues, that’s enough.” He waved his cannon around, searching for his target. 

“What?” 

“No not you. Jǐngtì,” Badgerclops said. 

“You can put the arm cannon down now. He’s long gone.” He knew Jǐngtì wasn’t. He taught him that disappearing trick, after all. 

“Oh. Well then let’s get the aerocycle and go. I have no idea where it’s parked.”

“But I didn’t ride the aerocycle here.”

Badgerclops groaned and they shared a laugh as they walked back home


	2. For Fox Sake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao is quite a capable fighter, yet when a fox and raccoon decide to make a stop in the village Mao Mao is forced to do something he hasn't done before: Prove his innocence in a court of law.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom, fresh chapter. I actually really like the characters of Rufus and Reggie. Theirs more to them than you'd think at first, and they change up the stakes of the game. Violence rarely works against them; Instead , it forces others to fight a more verbal battle. Anyway, I'm rambling. A good song rec for this is We Won't Be Fooled Again - The Who. (the cultured among us will recognize the song as the opening of CSI: Miami)

Mao Mao sat on a bench, nursing a cup of coffee that had started to become tepid. Adorabat and Badgerclops were there with him. They weren’t doing much either. They tapped away on their games without a care in the world. He thinks it was called Mini-mons, or something. Mao Mao would have reminded them that they were on patrol if the day wasn’t so slow. The only thing he did was give Pigguns another driving ticket, which he does every day, so it wasn’t anything but routine at this point. 

In his boredom, Mao Mao’s mind began to wander. The first of which being  Jǐngtì. He probably went back to meet up with Tanya. Hopefully, she could give the kid the talk Mao Mao couldn’t. The next thought that passed his mind was the valley itself. It was a strange place. He knew that it was guarded by the Ruby Pure Heart. Did the thing have to do with the sweetipies? They were strange creatures. Despite their age, they all seemed like children. Destructive, naive, gullible, children. Even the ones who he assumed were older were still flagrantly immature. Snugglemane and Camille being prime examples. 

“Hey, Badgerclops,” he said. 

“What do you want Daddy Issues I’m doing -Oh C’mon not Dirtmon,” he said, tapping buttons on the game even harder. 

“You think the Ruby Pure Heart has something to do with the sweetipies?” 

“Elaborate.” 

“I mean do you think it has to do with why they’re all so… immature… and feral?” 

“Nah, dude I think that was just the barrier thingy. No problems; no need to learn, right?” 

“I suppose that makes sense.” 

“You need to find something to do. You always get so questiony when you’re antsy.” 

“I would if there was something to do.” 

“Play Mini-mons with us?” 

“No.” 

“Then go find some sweetiepies or something. All they do is commit crimes, to be honest. Shouldn’t Puggin’s be speeding around now?”

He couldn’t say Badgerclops was wrong about that. Mao Mao got up and threw away his coffee. “No he gets his daily ticket at 4:00, but you have a point. I’ll see you around.” 

“Okay dude I’ll be… losing to this child. Get me a pie if you’re going to the bakery.”

Mao Mao almost told him to go get it himself when he sighed and decided to go along with it. 

* * * 

Rufus could barely believe his luck. He sat at the table watching Muffin stack all sorts of valuables on the table. Golden coins, priceless gems, paintings, and a menagerie of riches that would fit a king. He was eyeing a golden watch on this ugly little mouse’s wrist, searching his head for a con, when the thing walked up to him. He was eyeing a golden watch on this ugly little mouse’s wrist, searching his head for a con, when the thing walked up to him. Somehow Reggie managed to pull a scam out of nowhere that the creature actually believed. 

Just an hour ago he was looking for yet another town to go to where his face was unknown to run another scam, only to find a surprise kingdom that wasn’t on any maps. Even better than that was that everyone here was dumb as bricks! Rufus kicked back to watch more savings be put on the table when a strange cat walked in. To be fair, the black cat only looked strange relative to the technicolor weirdos. 

“Can I get another Everyberry...” The cat’s voice died out as it caught sight of Rufus Regg and the stack of treasures. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed,” Muffins, what are you doing?” 

“Well, I was making some pies when these two nice gentlemen come in. They looked like the wanted to talk to me, so I go up to them and it turns out their distant relatives who are looking to set up a branch of the company here. They just need some investment to set up shop, and well you don’t say no to family,” Muffin said. 

“You're savings,” he did a double-take looking at the stack of treasures before shaking it off,” that… comes later. Muffin, right now you need to stop giving them their money.” 

Rufus began to wonder if things were starting to sour.

“Why not help family?” 

“Muffins you are a yellow mouse. That is a raccoon and fox.” 

“And?” 

The cat looked like he was about to strangle the mouse when he took a deep breath,” listen, they aren’t your family. They’re scam artists taking your money.” 

“A preposterous claim, under what authority do you have to make those allegations,” Rufus asked with all the feigned bravado he could muster. 

“The crown’s.” 

“I beg your pardon?” 

“I’m the sheriff.” 

* * * 

Mao Mao watched the fox’s eyes go wide as he forced himself to wear a smile. “Ahhh, I see. Well, you must be a busy person, as are we, so you must understand if we have to cut this engagement short. We have places to be you know.” 

“You’re both under arrest.” 

“Run!” 

Rufus quickly grabbed his companion and bolted out the door. 

Mao Mao checked his watch. It was 3:50. If he did this quick he should be able to give Pigguns his ticket. After giving them a fair head start before he crashed through the storefront to give chase. It was pretty disappointing, to be honest. The grifters weren’t particularly fast or smart. They made the horrible choice to run right to the kingdom gates. Mao Mao knew twenty different shortcuts that could have put him ahead of them, but he didn’t need to use any of them. He checked his watch; It was 3:58. Mao Mao picked up the pace, closing in on them at blinding speed. 

He drew his sword and leaped forward. He screeched to a halt at the last intersection. Instead of giving chase, he rested his arm on Geraldine, and began to write on his notepad. 

“Ha-Ha! Yes! We did it Regg. We’re free! We’re-” 

Rufus learned why the sheriff stopped when Slim-Pigguns careened down the road. Mao Mao calmy stuck yet another ticket onto Pigguns’ car as it zoomed by, and waited. When the smoke cleared the fox was kneeling next to his roadkill companion. Unfortunate that it didn’t hit both. 

What a great day! He captured the scammers and gave Pigguns his ticket all at once. Whoever said a “ _ bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” _ could go get fucked. For once in his life, Mao Mao was feeling proud of himself. That and his little joke must’ve been why he laughed. He laughed, and he did it quite loudly. 

Slowly, Sweetipies began to crowd around, murmuring amongst themselves.

The sweetipies pushed past Mao Mao, crowding around the raccoon. “Poor thing, who did this to you?” 

A wicked glint ignited in the foxe’s eye,” it was the sheriff. He did this.” 

“Oh my god, you think anyone is actually going to believe... that.” 

The mob turned to face Mao Mao, moving like a single angry creature. 

“What a monster,” a sweetiepie said

“I knew he’d lose it eventually,” said another. 

“Oh, come on! You can’t actually believe him!” 

“What a horrid man.” 

The crowd began to close in on Mao Mao. 

“That’s preposterous. I would never do something like that… without reason, at least. Either way, you can’t just believe a couple of strangers right?” 

“I knew we shouldn’t have made him sheriff.” 

“Woah, woah, woah, that’s enough,” Badgerclops said over is police siren hand to get through the crowd. 

“What on earth happened here?” 

“The sheriff attacked this innocent man.”

He and Adorabat looked over to the Reggie then back to Mao Mao.

“You seriously can’t believe them,” he said. 

Adorabat sucked air in through her teeth,” Badgerclops, should I tell him?” 

“Now. Now let’s not make assumptions,” Badgerclops said before immediately huddling down and speaking in a whisper. “What the fuck, dude? I know I already have bags packed, but geez.” 

“I didn't do it! It was Slim Pigguns who did this!” 

“Can you prove it,” the fox choked out. 

“Prove it?” Mao Mao marched through the crowd, grabbing, shoving and tossing Sweetipies out of the way, grabbing the fox by the collar. “Of course, I can prove it. Its what happened!” 

“Could you prove it in a court of law?” 

“Sure!” 

“Then we will. I sue the Pure Heart Valley Sheriff’s Department.”

“What,” Mao Mao, Badgerclops and Adorabat screamed in unison. 

“No. In fact, we’ll sue the Pure Heart Valley itself. We’ll sure for everything it owns.”

Mao Mao and the three of them quickly formed a team-planning hug. “He can’t actually sue the entire valley for everything it owns, can he,” Adorabat asked. 

“Don’t ask me. Ask Mao Mao.” 

“Well… they might. The article that relates to suits against the kingdom doesn’t exactly put a limit on what can be demanded.” 

“Don’t worry Daddy Issues. I already got our bags packed and-” 

“We are not running!” 

“Why not, I don’t really wanna be here when you lose the case.” 

“I won’t lose the case because I didn’t hurt him.” 

“You sure,” they asked. 

“Yes, I’m sure. He got run over by Slim Pigguns. I didn't hurt him. Why is that so hard to believe?” 

“Because that would be ridiculously on-brand for you. It's not an ‘if’ but ‘when’. I already have bags packed for when it happens.” 

“You have what now?” 

“Nothing. Anyways, if you want to challenge them then we go to court,” Badgerclops said.

“I’ll handle the case and you... try not to be yourself. Or at least don’t be yourself in front of the sweetipies.” 

“What?” 

“Oh! Oh! Oh! What do I do,” Adorabat asked. 

“You’ll be his PR,” Badgerclops explained. 

“Yay!” 

Mao Mao began to consider if it was time to use those emergency packs.

* * *

Mao Mao didn’t know if the sweetipies had any foresight or common sense. Rufus could literally sue the valley for everything it owns, and for some reason, the sweetipies were taking Rufus’ side. The fact that Snugglemane was in control of the proceedings was the shit icing on top of the shit cake. Mao Mao tapped his fingers against the table. The court was taking too long to start. The jury was seated and the spectators mumbled amongst themselves. Snugglemane fiddled with the white wig he was wearing over his usual one. Rufus and Reggie weren’t here yet. Badgerclops wasn’t present either. Only Adorabat was here, which wouldn’t be much help since she’s his “PR” and a child. 

Everyone turned when the doors opened. Rufus rolled his friend in on a stretcher. Despite the obvious greed in his eyes, Mao Mao could see genuine concern for his friend. Granted, that didn't stop him from wanting to see the fox on a stretcher as well. 

“Oh good, the prosecution is finally here. Let's get this thing started,” the king said banging his gavel. 

“But my defense isn’t here yet,” Mao Mao objected. 

Adorabat took the stage. “Don’t worry,” she said,” I got this.” 

“Aren’t you like... Six?” 

“Seven, actually.” 

Snugglemane considered it for a moment before banging his gavel. “Good enough for me. The Prosecution has the stand.” 

Rufus stepped up. Mao Mao thought it was weird for Rufus to be speaking for himself, then again it's not like the valley has any lawyers. 

Rufus cleared his throat, speaking in a pained voice,” Thank you, your… Honor? Majesty?” 

“Call me both.” 

“Alright, you're Honorific Majesty.” 

The king giggled; the sheriff rolled his eyes. 

“As you all know,” he began,” I had come to the Pure Heart Valley to visit a relative. Muffin, a distant cousin of mine-” 

“Oh, c’mon. You are a fox. Muffin is literally a yellow mouse,” Mao Mao interrupted. 

“Silence,” the king demanded with his gavel. “The prosecution has the floor.”

“As I was saying. I came to the valley because I’d come across some financial troubles. I’ve been trying to start a business of mine. A newspaper in fact. Everything was going smoothly till that brigand appeared.” 

The crowd hissed and booed at Mao Mao. The king didn’t bother to stop that interruption. 

“This foul creature chased me all the way through town. When he finally caught up with me. He proceeded to do… this to my friend.” 

The crowd winced and ooed in sympathy for that awful fox. 

“A heartbreaking tale,” the King sniffled. “Does the defense have anything they want to say?” 

“Yes,” Adorabat said. 

“Really?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then speak your piece.” 

“Um.. line?”

Mao Mao pinched the bridge of his nose. 

* * * 

Mao Mao did not expect much from a defense set up by a seven-year-old, but by god, it was somehow worse. Adorabat was naive and easy to manipulate. Rufus found it easy to set up leading questions. 

“Do you think the sheriff is responsible for his actions?” 

“Ehm… yes?”

“Is he one of those hateful people willing to attack others?” 

“I suppose.” 

“Does his tendency to attack first without asking questions often bring others to harm?” 

“King, I object,” Mao Mao interrupted.

“Say the full titles.” 

Mao Mao swallowed his fury. “I object to his questions, your Honorific Majesty.” 

“On what grounds?” 

“Well, the fact that they’re all loaded questions and Adorabat actually being a seven-year-old toddler.” 

“That’s no grounds for an objection. You elected her to be your defense of your own accord. It conflicts with no rules or laws.” 

“Laws here make no sense, though. The fact that you’re suing an entire county for everything it owns is proof enough.” 

Rufus and Mao Mao began to argue more and more. Snugglemane pounded his gavel demanding order, but no one listened. Things just got louder and louder, wilder and wilder until Rufus and Mao Mao were grappling on the floor of the courtroom. 

“I’ll tear your eye out you armless bastard,” Rufus yelled. 

“I’d like to see a corpse try,” he responded. 

They only calmed down when the guards pried them apart When the guards finally pried them apart they were both left beaten and bloody. Mao Mao punched Rufus in the stomach; Rufus bashed him in the nose, along with the countless bumps and bruises they shared. Although, Rufus was definitely worse for wear. His left arm was twisted in all the wrong ways. Mao Mao couldn’t even feel proud of that. His head was throbbing and there was this awful hum.

No the hum wasn’t in his head. More heads began to turn when the noise got louder and louder. It was a hum, that grew into a rumble; a rumble so loud he courtroom began to shake. It sounded like a car… no, it was a car. Mao Mao quickly shook himself free of the guards, grabbing Adorabat as the wall caved in with a mighty crash. 

Mao Mao waved the smoke away, clutching Adorabat to his chest. “You alright,” he asked. 

“I’m fine,” she coughed out. 

Despite the damage, no one seemed to be hurt. Pinky was laughing maniacally, so the sweetipies were fine, the king peeked his head from behind the podium, and unfortunately, the grifters were still alive. Despite the car belonging to Slim Pigguns Badgerclops stepped out first. He took a few tentative steps before he threw up his lunch. Slim Pigguns stepped out more concerned for his car than anything else.

“What is the meaning of this,” the king growled. 

“Well… god damn… that was horrifying,” Badgerclops heaved in between breaths,” I have proof that… Mao Mao didn’t… do it.” 

“What’s the proof?” 

“Witness... testimony. I call to the stand… Slim Pigguns!” 

The fox’s eyes went wide. 

“Hm?” Pigguns poked his head up, not even paying attention to the court. 

“Mr.Pigguns, could you tell us what happened when you ran over the raccoon?” 

“Yeah. I was going for my daily drive, when I got near the gate I felt a bump.” 

“And you didn’t stop?” 

Pigguns just shrugged,” it happens.” 

“This is just testimony! Can you prove he was even there,” Rufus objected. 

“I still have the sticker Mao Mao gave me.” 

“That’s a speeding ticket,” Mao Mao added from the back. 

Rufus began to sweat. Nm “Do you have any physical evidence?” 

“Does the fender with your face still dented into it count?” 

“I’ve been meaning to buff that out,” Pigguns mumbled. 

Everyone turned to face Rufus. He pulled at his collar. His calm, collected demeanor beginning to give way to panic. 

“Does the prosecution have anything to say,” the king asked.

Rufus balled his hands into fist before sinking low,”... no, your honor.” 

“Say it right.” 

“Just give us the verdict, already.” 

“So rude,” the King banged his gavel,” I deem the defendants not guilty of assault and declare that the prosecution be jailed upon charges false accusations and wasting the courts time. The defendant's punishment shall be to clean up this mess.” 

“What, why?” 

“Because you’re all rude. So very rude.” 

“Could you at least take me to jail first,” Rufus asked. 

“I’m not going to put you in jail,” Mao Mao said. 

“What?” 

“I am, however, going to put you in the hospital.” 

Mao Mao pounced at him when Bagderclops grabbed him out the air,” as I said. It's not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.” 


	3. The Key to My Heart is the Juice From a Blood Red Apple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao knew Tanya would return, eventually. Especially after Jǐngtì made a mess of things. How can he face the woman he scorned? How can he justify leaving his old family in the dust?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for a long chapter, ya'll. TanyaMao angst is long arduous and deliciously painful. This took a minute to get out, especially when I've been so busy, but it was a lot of fun to write. The character drama here is strong, which is a change of pace for me. I enjoy the amount of show vs. tell I included here. I feel like it really brings out the best in the characters. The song recommendation here is Stolen Dance - Milky Chance. Enjoy the chapter, please leave a Kudos or a comment, and be sure to bookmark it.

Mao Mao was in the dojo, working to get his fingers under a rock. It was smooth and round; weighed a little over two hundred pounds. It was one of six that he had. When he finally got his fingers underneath the rock he made sure to lift with his arm, instead of his legs. Mao Mao lifted it up and placed it on the pedestal. Three down, three to go. He was lifting the fourth when he heard the door open. Did Bagderclops and Adorabat finally get back? Mao Mao got Badgerclops to agree to be a chaperone. He certainly wasn’t going to let them visit an active volcano without supervision. 

“Badgerclops,” he said in between breaths,” you got groceries, right?” 

“I don’t know. You’re going to have to ask him, Mittens.” 

Mao Mao’s hand slipped. He fell back with the rock weighing down on his chest. “God- Fuck!” He gasped. 

Tanya watched him move the stone. The confident, sly smirk was gone. Replaced by a regretful straight line.

“How’ve you been? Up to anything new,” she asked. 

“Oh, nothing new. Just strength training, Atlas stones,” he said pointing to the rocks. 

Things got terribly quiet. Mao Mao could hear his bonsai trees shaking in the breeze. 

“So, I heard Jǐngtì stopped by,” she said. 

“Uh, yeah he did. D- do you mind if we do this inside...and not sober.” 

“Yeah, sure.”

Mao Mao led Tanya to the kitchen. The change of setting didn't get rid of the awkwardness between them. Mao Mao knew that Tanya would show up eventually. She wasn’t like him. She couldn’t -wouldn’t- be satisfied with doing this over the phone. He’d already prepared and practiced bits and pieces of conversation to make things lighter but found them all fleeting now. Mao Mao stood on the chair and his tippy toes to reach the top shelf. 

“Why hide it up there?” 

“Adorabat is only like six or seven years old.” 

“Did your new boyfriend convince you to try and be a better parent?” 

Mao Mao brushed away the snide remark as best he could. If anyone had the right to say shit like that it was Jǐngtì; his mother a close second. 

“What do you want? We got beer, a bottle of vodka, some wine I don’t remember buying and hard cider.” 

“Cider.” 

“You feeling nostalgic, too?” 

She didn’t say anything. 

They sat across from each other in silence. Tanya had barely touched her glass while Mao Mao was already on his second mug. 

“How’ve you been,” she asked. 

“Fine, I guess. I got sued the other day.” 

“Really?” 

“I won the case, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“What happened to the other guy.” 

“He’s already out of prison. The kingdom’s laws don’t really make sense, to be honest.” 

“So, Jǐngtì was here, right?” 

Fuck.

“Yeah, he was,” he said. 

Fuck. 

“What the hell happened?” 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Mao Mao took a deep breath, searching for a way to explain last week’s events. “He-” 

Mao Mao was interrupted by a knock on the door. That was all good with him. He needed all the time he could get.

“I’ll get it.” 

Mao Mao didn’t know who was at the door. It was just Benny and Penny with an Amazon package Badgerclops ordered. Mao Mao threw the package on to the couch and went back to the kitchen. 

He took one big gulp of cider to finish his third mug. “What was I saying?” 

“You were telling me what Jǐngtì was doing here.” 

“Oh, uh-, he was… trying to get back at me.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.” 

“He… tied up a bunch of sweetipies and kidnapped Badgerclops and Adorabat.”

Tanya took her first sip.

“What did he want?” 

“He-”

There was a knock at the door.

Tanya took a deep breath and rubbed her temples. Mao Mao got up to answer it. It was Badgerclops with Adorabat sitting on his shoulder. Adorabat was fine, although Badgerclops’ fur was singed at the edges

“You will not believe the day I had. Chubbums made the volcano erupt! I almost died! And I’m pretty sure we displaced thousands of woodland creatures. It was quite the day.” 

“I’m certain it was,” Mao Mao said. 

Adorabat held her nose. “Your breath smells like apple juice and hospitals.”

Mao Mao wondered what she meant until he remembered the cider. Was it already on his breath?

“You good?" Badgerclops asked. “You don’t really drink unless-” 

Badgerclops grew quiet when he saw Tanya in the other room. A series of expressions passed on Badgerclops’ face. First was a surprise, then confusion, finally landing on an adult’s smirk. 

“I can just take her into town if you’re… reliving the past.” 

“What? No. That's-” 

“Tanya,” Adorabat exclaimed, interrupting Mao Mao and flying over without hesitation. 

Fantastic. 

* * *

Adorabat quickly struck a conversation with Tanya. Adorabat did have a charm to her. The smile Adorabat put on Tanya’s face was genuine, which was something Mao Mao hadn’t done in years.

She was telling Tanya what happened on the field trip. He would have assumed she was exaggerating things if Badgerclops didn’t have burns to prove it. “-and then we used the areocycle to- hang on! I want to show you a painting I made.” Adorabat zipped away into the other room as quickly as she came.

Tanya watched her go with a distant stare.

An awkward silence filled the air. 

“She’s a good kid,” she said. 

“Yeah,” Mao Mao said. 

“Mao Mao, I can’t find it.” 

“Don’t worry, I’m coming,” he said, thankful to finally be away from the terrible awkwardness. 

* * * 

Badgerclops and Tanya were left in the kitchen. Tanya tapped her finger against the table still staring off into space, while Badgerclops searched for the burn ointment. Bagderclops didn’t really know what to think of Tanya. All he knew about her was what Mao Mao would tell him until she kidnapped him. He gave glowing reviews of her. He said she was kind, sweet, and attractive. Badgerclops wasn’t sure he agreed with all of that. 

“So, what brings you here,” he asked Tanya. 

“Huh? Oh, I was just… asking Mao Mao about some things.” 

He made note that she didn’t call him mittens. 

“About Jǐngtì, right?” 

She stiffened a little bit. “Yeah. Yeah, I was.” 

“How’d he happen?” 

“What?” 

“You know,” Badgerclops said,” how’d you and Mao Mao split up.”

“He didn’t tell you?” 

“No, he did. It’s just that he’s…” 

“-Overdramatic?” 

“You said it not me, but yeah.” 

Tanya sighed,” we were young when it happened. Not even adults yet, teenagers. We’d already been traveling together for a while, and when he turned 18 we celebrated and got drunk.” 

“Mao Mao drank underage?” 

“I wish. We were at a place where the drinking age was 18, so he decided it was okay. I certainly wasn’t going to let him celebrate his birthday sober. Anyway, we got to drinking… and then to kissing and then… well, you can guess what happened.” 

“I’m surprised two teenagers decided to keep a child.” 

Tanya had started to drink. First, it was just a few sips of cider and now she getting a refill. 

"Teenagers are fucking dumb. We overestimated ourselves. We both had incomes and a stable relationship. So like, what the hell? Why not try and raise a kid?” 

Her story was consistent with the one Mao Mao told him. 

“How was rasing Jǐngtì,” he asked. 

She stiffened, looking out to the distance, stuck in memories. “What are you doing asking me all this? Jealous of your boyfriend's ex and child showing up out of nowhere?” 

Badgerclops first thought was of how rude that comment was, then it changed to boyfriend. 

“Sorry,” she groaned,” I’ve just… had too much to drink.” 

“We’re not dating,” Badgerclops said. 

“Really? You’re not dating?” 

“No, we’re not.” 

“You’re just two dudes living together -raising a child together- five feet apart cause they’re not gay?” 

“Exactly.” 

At least that’s what he thought. It's not that Badgerclops was against the idea. Mao Mao was cute it's just that Mao Mao has never really expressed any interest in it. Not just towards boys, towards romance at all. He assumed Mao Mao was asexual until he started talking about Tanya when he got drunk. He thought it was just drunken bullshit. It was only when Badgerclops mentioned the drunken rambling to a sober Mao Mao did he realize how true it was.

He could recall the day easily. It was before the aerocycle. They were washing up in a river trying to blow off massive hangovers. Badgerclops made an innocent joke -something about the drunken ramblings being a virgin’s fantasy- when Mao Mao suddenly stopped. Despite still standing in the river Mao Mao just stood there for a few minutes, trapped on a trip down memory lane, until he slowly came back to reality. Badgerclops still felt like shit for that. 

“Found it!” Adorabat quickly flew back into the kitchen, carrying a piece of paper. Here! Look!” 

Whatever was on the paper shook Tanya a great bit. The smile stiffened, her eyes got a little wider, her hands began to tremble. “It’s-, it's great,” she choked out. 

Badgerclops placed a hand on Adorabat’s shoulder. “Hey let’s go play some games, okay?” 

“Sure.” 

Badgerclops made sure to turn the volume up, so Adorabat wouldn't overhear anything. He knew that picture. It was a simple drawing of herself, Badgerclops, Mao Mao, and Tanya. They were all holding hands, smiling, a happy little rainbow danced in the background. They were a family. Something Tanya wanted, but couldn’t have. It was incredibly rude to show that to Tanya; one of those things that make you cringe when you look back on it. How old would Adorabat be when she realized how cruel that was?

* * * 

Tanya watched Mao Mao sit down out of the corner of her eye. He tapped his fingers against the table, searching for someplace to look before settling on his empty mug. Tanya wanted to say something, to ask him everything, but where to begin? Start with their missing son? How their child is slowly going even further off the deep end? Or maybe the new family he started after leaving his old one a broken wreck?

Tanya wanted to say she hated this man. She wanted to say she hated how he whined in that sultry voice, that she hated the myriad of gross scars of his well-toned body, that she hated the adorable way he second-guessed every decision he made, yet here she was happy to just be speaking to him. 

“Why’d you leave?” 

Mao Mao looked up.

“Why’d you leave,” Tanya asked again. 

“I -I -I,” Mao Mao stuttered,” I-... don’t know.” 

“Look, Mittens I-” 

_ Sssaaaavvve my bacon! I’m really in a jam!  _

Everyone turned to the bizarre alarm as it rang out. Tanya sighed and gestured for Mao Mao to go. 

He got up and then sat back down. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up later.” 

Tanya felt a bit of rosy red on her cheeks. Just maybe he learned to put family over that stupid obsession of his. 

Badgerclops considered it for a minute before saying okay and taking Adorabat with him. She could hear the roar of the aerocycle as they left. 

Tanya stared at Mao Mao; he stared back. 

“You should have just gone,” she said. 

“You wanted to ask me something. I’ll answer it and then go. I still have a job to do.” 

The words felt like a sledgehammer to the skull.

Tanya put her face in her hands and laughed. “I wanted to ask what kind of dumb, desperate slut falls for a walking, talking napoleon complex with daddy issues that can’t put family over his stupid fucking obsession?” 

“I don’t know,” he said. 

“What do you know? Do you at least know where our- _where my_ -son is?” 

“I don’t know,” he said again. 

Tanya pointed at the door. “Just go. Just… go,” she said. 

She heard the scape as Mao Mao pushed out his chair, his steps against the hardwood floor, the front door creak as it opened, and the soft click as it closed. 

* * *

The king hid behind his throne while Badgerclops examined the bones. They were littered all over the floor… a pattern? Or was he just seeing things? If it was a pattern, what did it mean?

“Badgerclops,” Adorabat asked. 

“Hm?” 

“What’s with Mao Mao and Tanya?” 

Oof. Why did she have to be such an observant child? 

“It’s...adult things.” 

“What’s adult things?” 

“You’ll understand when you’re older.” 

“But, I wanna understand now.” 

“Well… it’s like Tanya and Mao Mao we’re friends.” 

“I thought they were already friends.” 

“Like… best friends. They used to be best friends-” 

“What about Jǐngtì?” 

“Okay… uh, think of their relationship as a lot like what we have now. Tanya had the same role as me, and Jǐngtì had the same role as you. They were a happy little group.” 

“Then what happened?” 

“Something… just did. Jǐngtì did something, Tanya and Mao Mao got into a fight and they … split apart.” 

Adorabat looked down at the ground. “Does that mean we’ll split apart, too?”

Badgerclops decided to leave the adult conversations to that cat bastard. 

“Why’s Adorabat sad?” 

Badgerclops jumped back with an effeminate shriek. “Holy shit, dude! I am ‘this’ close to putting a bell on your ass.” 

Mao Mao didn’t even bother to tell Badgerclops to watch his language. He kept his head down preventing Badgerclops from seeing his face. Not that he needed too. The slumped shoulders, low voice, haggard movements told Badgerclops that Mao Mao was miserably drunk and miserably sad. 

“You feeling alright,” Badgerclops asked. 

“I’m fine,” Mao Mao said, kicking the bones. “These aren’t the King’s I hope.” 

“Nah, they’re just bones. I’m thinking they might be a pattern or something.” 

Mao Mao thought for a second before running up a pillar to the mezzanine. He rarely climbed, having one arm made it hard. Mao Mao began to slowly scan his eyes, his lips moving quietly while he did it. Was he reading something? 

“Hey, whatcha see up there?” 

Mao Mao didn’t answer. Badgerclops watched Mao Mao's expression change. He became tense and rigid, teeth ground against each other, his brow furrowed, eyes scowled, and veins popped on his forehead. He was practically foaming at the mouth. He ignored Badgerclops completely, leaping out the window full of piss and vinegar. 

“Um, is he okay,” the king asked from the peanut gallery. 

_Not once in that man’s entire life has he ever been okay._ Badgerclops didn’t say that. "Don’t worry. Things should be fine,” he lied. 

Badgerclops turned his hand into a helicopter to get to the mezzanine. Adorabat flying up to land on his shoulder soon after. He turned his attention to the bones. Up here they spelled something out. “Beware the monster - Bao Bao”. 

“Adorabat go get Tanya,” he said. 

“Wha-” 

“Go get Tanya,” he repeated more forcefully. 

Adorabat finally got the message. She flew out the window, towards home. Badgerclops turned his attention to the kingdom. He needed to find Mao Mao before he ended up killing someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter's Title: I Would Give You 'Till The Count of Ten, but I Can Only Count to Five


	4. I Would Give You Until The Count of Ten, but I Can Only Count To Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badgerclops may not like many things, but the Valley and Mao Mao were two things he did genuinely love. He needs to find Mao Mao or Bao Bao quickly, lest Mao Mao do something he'd never be able to take back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little late, which is because I was busy as hell. Regardless, the chapters here. This one is the longest of the ones I've written so far, which I guess is fair. We get to see Mao Mao's issues on full display and oh good lord he angst is to die for. The song rec here is A Left Foot Trapped in A Sensual Seduction which the weebs among us will recognize as Alucard's theme from Hellsing. As always remmber to check out SpookylovesBoba on Twitter, Youtube, and Tumblr.

Badgerclops ran through town tired and short of breath, wondering where that feral cat bastard went. Sweetipies turned their heads when they saw Badgerclops him.

“Does Mao Mao have the hose again,” one asked. 

“Is Muffin giving out free samples, again,” asked another. 

Assholes. 

Badgerclops stood on top of a park bench, turning his hand into a megaphone. “Mao Mao,” he called out. “Mao Mao! Mao Mao!” 

God, he felt like a green plumber looking for his brother in a haunted mansion. Badgerclops chuckled a bit at his own joke. Maybe he should have said hotel instead of a mansion to make it more current. Badgerclops stopped examining the intricacies of his own comedy when he noticed Pinky waking up to the table with a suspicious jar of mayo in his hands. 

“Goss,” Badgerclops said. 

“Me or the mayo?” 

“Both. Get out of here, Pinky.”

“What are you doin?” 

“None of your business.”.

“Are you looking for Mao Mao?” 

“Have you seen him?” 

“No.” 

Badgerclops shot the jar of mayo with his arm cannon. Seeing Pinky mourn did brighten his day a little. Not enough. He still needed to find Mao Mao. 

“Hey! Get off of me!” 

The noise snapped Badgerclops out of his thoughts. He panicked. Was it too late? Had Mao Mao already done something he’d regret? Badgerclops hurried in the voice's direction, already making plans for a quick exit. He'd already made their packs. Even a third one for Adorabat in case she was brought along, although he doubted they’d keep her. Maybe they’d ditch her at the castle? Badgerclops slapped his face and shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be stressing about that. Now was the time to find Mao Mao.

Badgerclops rounded the corner and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Mao Mao. It was just Rufus getting harassed by some dog. Why was Rufus still here? He should’ve skipped town ages ago. 

“Hey!” he called out nearly making Rufus jump out of his own skin. 

Rufus pushed the dog away from the bouquet and snacks that the dog was after. “What do you want,” he sneered. 

“Okay, one: rude. Two: don’t be so rude to the guy who can throw you in jail, Three: you don’t ask me what I’m doing; I ask you what you’re so what are you doing?”

Rufus pushed Badgerclops' finger away. “I’m visiting my friend that the blasted sheriff put in the hospital!”

Oh right, the raccoon. Kind of cute that he was still waiting for his friend. 

Not cute enough to keep Badgerclops from picking the fox up and shaking him like a can of soda. 

“I don’t care about your friend! I’m looking for Mao Mao! Have you seen him?”

“Mao Mao? You mean the black cat?” 

“Yes!” 

“The one wearing the red cape?” 

“Yes!” 

“Carrying the golden sword?” 

“Yes! Yes! For the love of God, yes! Just tell me where he is!” 

“Alas, I haven’t seen him anywhere,” Rufus said with the smarmiest of smiles. 

“Okay, you know what,” Badgerclops said, setting the fox back down. "I’m trying to keep someone from being murdered and ya'll are being, like, super ungrateful.” 

The dog barked in protest. 

“Yeah, that includes you.” 

Badgerclops picked the dog up to pet it while he thought. The dog was a milky brown Shiba-Inu. Nothing notable aside from the fact that it had a sword on its back and a necklace. No. It was an amulet around its neck. Badgerclops didn’t pick the dog up just to look at it, he wanted to know who it belonged to. Where in the hell would a sweetipie get a dog and why hadn’t he seen it before? To Badgerclops’ dismay, there wasn’t any address stamped on the collar, but there was a name:  _ Bao Bao _ .

Badgerclops rubbed his eyes and read the collar again. It still said Bao Bao.

He grabbed Rufus by the collar and used his jacket to wipe at the collar until it shined. Surely enough, it still read Bao Bao. 

What?  _ What? _ This dog was Bao Bao! A dog! A fucking dog! What the shit? Mao Mao described him as an evil barbarian with enough guile to pose as a hero and the psychopathy to abandon a kid whose arm was crushed by a rock! Not a dog! Not a fucking dog!

Badgerclops rubbed his temples, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He should have expected this. He was the most overdramatic motherfucker to ever motherfuck, but damn dude. Whatever he resolved to accept that Mao Mao’s worst enemy was literally an animal. He just needed to kick the dog out of the valley and wait for Mao Mao to calm his tits. No, that wouldn’t do. If no one caught Mao Mao he’d definitely kill someone. 

Badgerclops pushed the dog into Rufus’ hands. “Take this dog and get him out of the valley. I don’t care how it gets done. Just do it,” he ordered. 

“What? I’m going to visit my friend and besides I don’t have to do anything you say.” 

Badgerclops pointed his arm at Rufus, letting it shift into the high powered cannon. “C’mon just take the dog away, you know, before someone gets hurt.” 

“Alright just don’t shoot me! I don’t wanna be shot!” 

“There we go. Now get out of here before someone -and by someone I mean you- gets messed up.” 

Badgerclops watched Rufus turn away to finish his task.

_ Thump! _

Badgerclops stopped.

He turned around just in time to see a black blur with a streak of gold. 

It was Mao Mao!

Badgerclops swung around brandishing his arm, opening his eye, taking careful aim. The window was more narrow than a pinhole. He watched and waited. He watched Rufus see the sword and scream in terror. He waited for Mao Mao to swing his sword with all his might.

Now! 

Badgerclops let loose a net. The wound-up ball slowly spread out, snagging Mao Mao out of the air, pinning him against the wall. Badgerclops ignored Mao Mao to put his fingers to Rufus’ neck. The fox's eyes had rolled back, and foam had gathered in the corners of his mouth;The look made Badgerclops’ fur stand on end. He breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow when he finally felt a pulse. The fox was definitely not fine, but he wouldn't die anytime soon. Although, the scare shaved years off his life. 

Once was done with Rufus; he had to deal with Mao Mao. 

Mao Mao strained against the net fruitlessly. Bao Bao looked up at his old friend, shivering, ears folded back with tail between its legs. Mao Mao probably couldn’t even hear the dog’s whimpers. He screamed at the top of his lungs. It was had no expletives. It had no threats. It only had a long, grueling explanation of his pain. 

Badgerclops reached over, petting Mao Mao behind the ears. “Alright dude, let’s just chill and- “ 

Mao Mao quickly snapped at Badgerclops’ hand. His teeth clanging against the steel. “C’mon dude, don’t do that. I don’t want to schedule a trip to the dentist.” 

He let go of Badgerclops’ hand with a huff, but he still had that dark flame burning in his eyes. 

“Badgerclops,” Tanya said, dropping down from the rooftops,” Is everything alright?” 

“I’ve got things all tied up,” he said pointing to Mao Mao who didn’t find his joke amusing. 

Tanya faced Mao Mao with a sullen look in her eyes. She reached out her paw to wipe a tear from his eye. Mao Mao shook her comfort away with an angry grunt. “Oh, Mittens,” she quietly cried. Tears began to fall down the Tanuki’s face, but Mao Mao didn’t notice or didn’t care. 

“You should probably take Bao Bao and go before-” 

Badgerclops was interrupted by a screeching roar echoed throughout the kingdom. Badgerclops facepalmed his own stupidity. He was so focused on the Bao Bao part of the message that they completely forgot about the monster. He could see the smoke, hear the screams as it rampaged.

“Tanya." He gave a slight nod of his head," where's Adorabat?" 

“I left her at the house.” 

Damn the fact that she was a responsible adult. She shouldn’t have to see this, but he did wish she was here. He and Tanya were the only ones who could fight; the dog was a maybe, and Mao Mao was still in the net. 

“You think we can take it?” 

“I… don’t know. Maybe?” 

Fantastic. The moment he thought he had things under control they go right back to shit. 

Badgerclops didn’t know how he knew to turn around. It was instinct. He saw the wall behind Mao Mao began to crack and crumble as the monster charged through. The beast was large, green and scaly, like a snake with four legs. It moved like one too. Delicately turning on a dime, clinging to the side of a building while it stared them down. 

His small hope that the beast would leave them alone was squashed when the monster saw the amulet around Bao Bao’s neck. 

It lunged forward. Mouth open to show a wide maw. In a narrow alley like this, there was nowhere to run. It could probably get them all in one quick gulp. Badgerclops supposed such a terrible end fit such a terrible day. 

A naïve thought. 

Mao Mao stepped in front of the beast, sword on his back to block the teeth, heels digging into the ground as he forced the charging beast to a slow stop. Tanya, Bao Bao, Badgerclops, and the Mao Mao stopped in sheer confusion and awe. The monster didn’t hesitate. Its tail lashed at Mao Mao from the left, ripping at his skin like a whip. The tail lashed Mao Mao from the right, forcing him to stagger. 

The third strike whistled through the air, barely blocked by Mao Mao’s sword. The next lash came with enough force to knock Mao Mao of balance despite blocking it. He parried the next strike, yet it still sent him cartwheeling through the air. 

The second his feet touched the ground he was off. A black blur with a streak of gold. The gold cut the tip of the beast tail causing the monster to howl in pain before being silenced with a plunging attack through its skull. Badgerclops hates to admit it, but the bastard cat carried the sheriff's department. 

He pulled his sword out of the monster and hopped down off the corpse. He dragged his sword on the ground behind him as he walked forward. His movements were smooth, flowing like a steady stream. Despite wearing an inviting smile, the dark flames in his eyes were raging like a wildfire. 

Tanya stepped in front of him before he could get any closer. “Stop. Just… for the love of god stop, and let the dog go.” 

“You’re right. I just want to... apologize to Bao Bao. Wish him well,” Mao Mao said with an almost cartoonishly large and toothy smile. 

“Do I look some fucking clown to you? I know you’re lying! Just put the  sword down and let the dog go.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just want to say apologize to my childhood friend-” 

_ SMACK! _

Tanya interrupted Mao Mao with a strong slap across the face.

When he turned back the smile was gone; the dark flames still burning.

“Move,” he commanded. 

“Why do you have to be like this,” she asked, her voice rising in pitch. “Can’t you just let things go? Whatever Bao Bao -this dog- did to you is in the past. It already happened and you can’t change it!” 

“I know nothing can change it. I don’t expect it to. I’m not trying to change anything. I’m just trying to do some justice,” he said with a voice as cold as stone, “so, I’ll tell you once again: move.” 

“No!” 

Mao Mao didn’t hesitate to push past her, knocking her to the ground while he brought his sword down. Bao Bao quickly hopped out the way. Mao Mao followed the dog close behind, stabbing down over and over again, the calm facade splitting at the seams as his frustration grew. 

“I’ll kill you,” he screamed, finally cornering the dog. He raised his sword up as Bao Bao looked up in terror. 

Badgerclops grabbed his arm before he could finish. “Calm down! He’s just a dog-” 

Mao Mao spun around, dropping the sword, tears welling in his eyes. “That  _ dog  _ ruined my  _ life _ !” 

“He did  _ this! _ ” He pulled back the cape to reveal the stub of his left arm. 

He picked the sword back up, raising it high over his head. “And I’m going to do it to him!” 

Tanya was quick. 

In a puff of smoke one, Bao Bao turned into thirty. In the second that Mao Mao stopped in confusion, she dashed forward, snatching the real one away before Mao Mao cut the horde into bits. 

“Bao Bao,” he screamed,” get back here!” 

Badgerclops tackled him to the ground before he could give chase. “Bao Bao! Bao Bao!” he screamed and screamed until his voice went hoarse. 

* * * 

Mao Mao lay in bed at HQ with his blanket tucked over his head. He felt like shit. Stopping the monster’s charge wore down the flesh on his feet to the bone, despite the monster's teeth stabbed seven holes into his back, one dangerously close to his spine, but the physical pain didn’t matter much. It was his feeling that were tearing him apart. It was one part burning rage; another part nauseating shame. 

He heard footsteps approach. It couldn’t have been Adorabat cause she liked to fly (where did she go); they were too heavy to be Tanya’s (not like she wanted to speak to him anyway), so it had to be Badgerclops. 

“How ya feeling,” he asked. 

Mao Mao let out a small grunt. 

“Camille said you should be fine. Just take it easy. Don’t try to jump around or anything.” 

He made another small grunt. 

“You feeling okay?” 

Mao Mao nodded from under the blankets. 

“Good to hear. Just get some rest, man.” 

“What about Bao Bao,” he grumbled out. His throat was still raw and sore from all the shouting.

“Tanya took him with her.” 

Mao Mao let out a shuddering sigh. 

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” 

Mao Mao nodded more forcefully this time.

Badgerclops scooped Mao Mao up into his arms. Cradling the bundle of blankets and clutching him close. “Listen, I know we all have our issues and hangups, and I know this day has been hard for you-” 

“You don’t.” 

“Hm?” 

“You don’t know how hard it's been for me! I hate-  _ hate - _ that dog. He’s everything wrong with me! I wanna wring his stupid little head from his silly little body!” Mao Mao choked on his words,” I wanna- I wanna…” 

Badgerclops pet him behind the ears,” what do you want?” 

“...I want to be alone for a bit.” 

“How about this,” Badgerclops said,” I can take Adorabat camping for the weekend? We’d be back Sunday. You’d have the house to yourself. How does that sound?”

“Yeah,” Mao Mao slowly nodded,” Yeah, that sounds nice.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please remember to kudos if you'd liked it and bookmark if you want to stay up to date. 
> 
> Next Chapter's title: The Torment of a Father


	5. The Torment of A Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Badgerclops and Adorabat away camping Mao Mao finally decides to go to a therapist. At least, he planned to. When he comes across his son he makes a change of plans on the dim hope that perhaps their relationship can get a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a long time to get out. It was actually done and supposed to be uploaded on thanksgiving, but I got too busy to get that done, and the next day was another hassle, so here we are. I don't really have much to say for this chapter, aside from the fact that it's the first in a set of 3 that I've been wanting to finish since I started writing this. As the usual check out SpookylovesBoba on a socil media site of your choice, and uh... I have o good music recommendation for this chapter. I couldn't find a song that plays into its themes so... pick one for yourself, I guess. Leave it as a comment and I'll give it a listen.

Mao Mao walked through town using a sheathed Geraldine as a cane. Because his feet still hurt. It was a warm day with large clouds. It hadn’t gotten windy yet, so the rain was still a bit off.

Badgerclops and Adorabat had only left yesterday, and he knew he should get some rest, but Mao Mao had stuff to do. Like, meet up with Ol’ Blue for his appointment. Who would’ve thought the Valley would have a therapist? He expected the closest one to be in the nearest kingdom. He was lucky that the valley had one, yet he didn’t feel very lucky. He knew he’d needed a therapist. Basic introspection was enough to tell him that. He didn’t want to go. He never wanted to go. He still didn’t want to go. However, he was a grown-ass man. He could take care of himself. 

He stood in front of the door to the office. It was the same as the one he wrote down, yet he still checked it over and over. He was just postponing the inevitable. He was a grown adult! He could do this!

Not without a drink first. 

Mao Mao hobbled his way into a 24-hour convenience store. He worked his way to the back where the booze was. They didn't have the kind he liked. Mao Mao faintly heard the doors chime as someone else walked in; he considered seeing who it was before deciding he should hurry and pick a drink. He was juggling on getting a can or bottle when he heard a commotion a familiar voice. 

“Just give me the money,” it said.

Mao Mao sighed, deciding on the can, walking up to the front of the store. There he was, pressing his golden dagger to a sweetipies throat, was his son. 

“What in the hell are you doing?” he asked. 

Jǐngtì rolled his eyes. “What does it look like I’m doing? This is a stickup. A sheriff should know that.” 

“If you needed money, you should’ve just asked. I’m your dad I would have given you some.” 

“Don’t worry, I already know your credit and debit information. Thought the bank would have called you by now?” 

“What?” 

“Don’t worry about it,” he said,” also, you probably want to check your credit score.”

Mao Mao pinched the bridge of his nose. “Listen, just… get off of the counter.” 

Jǐngtì eyed his father before driving his fist into the sweetipies nose and getting off the counter. Not the best outcome, but Jǐngtì listened, which was more than he expected. 

They left the store after giving the sweetipie some ice. Mao Mao walked closely behind his son. He had no other place to go, rather; he had no other place he wanted to go. Jǐngtì noticed his father and let out an annoyed grunt, picking up his pace. At first, it was a brisk walk, then a run, then a race. Mao Mao continued to follow them, even though his feet were leaving bloody paw prints.

Jǐngtì jumped off a bench, springing off a lamppost to the rooftops. Mao Mao repeated the movements, following closely after his son. Jǐngtì suddenly swung around. Mao Mao stumbled to a stop. Jǐngtì’s claws grazing his cheek instead of his eye. It was easy to forget that he was part cat. He had tufted fur around his shoulders, and a bushy tail, but kept a sense of balance and hidden claws. He preferred using the tanuki magic he inherited from his mother (it wasn’t that hard to realize why) but he still knew how to make best use of his feline traits. 

Jǐngtì quickly broke from the rooftops, springing off the rooftops with a backflip, and reaching out with both arms to pull himself into a window in one smooth motion. A move that a one-armed man shouldn’t be able to do. Mao Mao jumped off the edge, sticking Geraldine through the window to use as a lever to pull himself inside.

Jǐngtì was waiting for him with one foot out the window and a purple ox in his arms. He looked Mao Mao square in the eye before throwing the ox in one direction and leaving in the other. 

That would have worked on anyone else. 

Mao Mao went after the ox first. He caught it the air, landing on a shop awning, setting the ox neatly on its feet before the awning snapped back like a trampoline, sending Mao Mao flying through the air, back to the rooftops. 

Jǐngtì sneered at the act, gritting his teeth, and stamped his foot against the shingles. “God, just stop following me! What the fuck do you want!” 

“I just want to talk,” he said.” 

“About what?” 

Good question.

“What are you carrying,” Mao Mao blurted out. 

Jǐngtì looked at the plastic bags he was carrying with some disbelief. “Shouldn't you know what groceries are?” 

“I know what groceries are,” he said,” I mean why do you have them?” 

“Shouldn’t you also know that people need to eat?” 

“No. I mean like… what are you doing here?” 

“Getting groceries.” 

Could the kid try not to get on his nerves? “What I mean to ask what are you still doing in the valley?” 

“You and I still have some unfinished business, of course. Why wouldn't I still be here?” 

“I just thought Tanya would have picked you up before she left.” 

“Mom was here?” 

Mao Mao felt like he just picked the wrong answer in one of Badgerclops’ dating sims. 

Jǐngtì stopped. Mao Mao expected him to cry. He could already see tears, yet Jǐngtì just blinked them away with a sigh. Jǐngtì said nothing else. He slowly turned around and began to walk away. 

“Wait!” 

Mao Mao grabbed Jǐngtì by the wrist. 

“What do you want?” 

Mao Mao paused while he thought of a reason. “You want to get something to eat?” 

* * *

Jǐngtì sat on the bench outside Muffin’s Bakery, twiddling his thumbs while he waited for his father. If it was up to Jǐngtì he would have picked somewhere else. Dessert wasn’t his favorite thing, but he didn’t really care. He was still numb. He expected mom to show up eventually, sooner rather than later, but he at least expected to meet her. He was just another afterthought. Jǐngtì shook his head and wiped tears from his eyes. Don’t let it show. Can’t let it show. 

Don’t be weak. Can’t be weak. 

He pulled up the bandana and rubbed the tears out of his eyes. He searched around for something to focus on before he broke down completely. He settled on looking over his shoulder to the inside of the bakery. His father leaned against the counter, waiting for the order. His eyebrows knitted together. The fox inside was giving Mao Mao a wide berth, shuffling in his seat, and sweating nervously. Muffin didn’t seem to notice the hard air. Were all sweetipies oblivious? Jǐngtì preferred not to dwell on sweetipies; all the sweetipies creeped him the fuck out. They were just so weird. 

Jǐngtì watched Mao Mao get the order and sit down next to him. Mao Mao got beignets while Jǐngtì got the cobbler he didn’t want. He only got cobbler because he knew it annoyed his dad for some reason. He didn’t feel like annoying his dad, so why the hell did he even get it? Jǐngtì almost got up and threw it away until he remembered the pit in his stomach. Something disgustingly sweet was better than nothing. 

They sat in silence for a moment before Jǐngtì spoke up.

“Why are you using your sword like that,” Jǐngtì asked. 

“Using it as a cane? It’s because I hurt my feet the other day.” 

“Fighting that monster?” 

“Yeah.” 

The pointless and pathetic small talk quickly gave way to silence again. They sat like that for another moment when Mao Mao managed to say something.

“How are you feeling,” Mao Mao asked. 

“Why do you care?” 

“I’m your dad. Caring is what I’m supposed to do.” 

“I know,” he said,” I’m just wondering why you’re suddenly starting to do that now.” 

“I’ve always cared-” 

“Did you?” Jǐngtì interrupted. “Did you really? I go to prison and you do... whatever this is. Became babysitter to a bunch of creepy fucking toddlers? I know for a fact that you could have done something to get me out of prison.” 

“It’s not that easy-” 

“It really is. You could have paid bail yourself.. I know for a fact this goddamn ‘mao clan’ or whatever has enough money to literally pay a king’s ransom with excess. Instead, you let Mom spend 4 years collecting the money herself.” 

Mao Mao stumbled over his words. “I… the situation was complicated. The monarchy-” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he calmly said. 

“What?” 

“I  _ don’t  _ want to talk about it.” 

Jǐngtì shuffled to the other side of the bench, refusing to even look his father in the eye. 

“Why’d you get the groceries?” 

“Cause I was hungry and would rather not starve to death because none of them want to do chores?” 

“Who’s ‘them’?” 

“My… roommates, I guess.” 

“What roommates? Who are you staying with? Where are you staying?” 

“Sky Pirates.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Mao Mao jump to his feet and begin pacing back and forth. 

“Why would you?” He took a deep breath, taking the time to gather his thoughts. “You’re staying with the sky pirates?”

“Yes.” 

“Why? I have a room at HQ you could have stayed in.” 

“I didn’t want to. Matter of fact, I still don’t want to.” 

“You shouldn’t be staying with the sky pirates-” 

“I don't see why it's such a fucking problem with you! You went years without a call or even a letter! I can’t understand why you suddenly want anything to do with me.” 

“Why wouldn’t I want anything to do with you? I’m your father.” 

“You sure as hell don’t act like it.” 

* * *

Mao Mao coiled his tail around his finger. It was a replacement habit. When he had both arms he tended twiddle his thumbs. The new habit gave him something to do while he thought of something to say. 

What could he say? 

“Look, son-” 

“Don’t call me that,” he snapped. 

Mao Mao ignored it. 

“Son, I know that… things were difficult. It was prison. It has to be. It must have been an incredibly difficult time for you.” He put his arm over Jǐngtì’s shoulder. “You had to learn to do things on your own, learn to make judgments for yourself, with no guidance or advice.”

“It must have been a painful thing to go through. It had to be. You managed to survive it and now you’ve come out stronger. You’ve gotten rid of a bit of that weakness. Leaving you in jail wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was a lesson. It taught you about consequences and weakness and-” I know it sounds harsh, but-”

Jǐngtì quickly stood up before he could finish. He took a deep breath and stared at the ground while he thought. “I know it sounds harsh, but-”

Mao Mao never got to try to justify himself. 

Jǐngtì grabbed Mao Mao by the face and pushed him back with all his might. Mao Mao went over the bench crashing through the Bakery’s storefront. Mao Mao righted himself, stumbling into a landing, using only a cat's instinct. The danger of surprise attacks lay in the ‘surprise’. If it didn’t win the fight outright, the sudden switch created an opening. Mao Mao knew this; Jǐngtì did as well. His son seized the opportunity. He lunged forward. A punch that should have landed. Mao Mao caught it with his right hand; a feat only possible because the move and strategy was something he taught his son. A surprise throw to create a gap for a well-timed finish.

“A single wrong move can turn the tides,” he said, pulling Jǐngtì in for a leg sweep counter. 

Mao Mao felt something strike the side of his head. An elbow split his skin. “A single wrong move can turn the tides,” Jǐngtì smugly repeated. 

To know that he’d pull him in for a leg-sweep creating just enough space for an elbow that a one-armed man couldn’t stop. Did he read that far ahead? Mao Mao couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as everything tilted. 

He grabbed Jǐngtì’s arm. They began to fall. Jǐngtì prepared to grapple on the ground, however, Mao Mao pushed off the ground, reeling back and then pushing Jǐngtì away with all his weight. 

Mao Mao was still reeling from the attacks, his sense of balance too busy somersaulting to keep him from falling on broken glass. A stray shard went into his side, slipping past the ribs into the meat. 

The pain was blinding. All Mao Mao could do was lie there in pain, waiting for Jǐngtì’s finisher. Would it be a kick to the skull? A stomp to the face? Mao Mao put his money on the forme; It seemed more Jǐngtì’s style. He waited and waited, but it never came. 

Mao Mao pried himself off the ground. He considered pulling out the shard but decided it was the only thing keeping him from bleeding out, so it was best to leave it. He looked for Jǐngtì, finding him back outside, sitting on the bench. Mao Mao grabbed used Geraldine as a cane to stumble toward his son, heaving for breath, barely able to even stand. 

“How do you do it,” Jǐngtì asked. “How do you manage to come so close to doing something right? How do you manage to mess it up so swiftly, so consistently, so easily that it makes blinking look like a deadlift?” 

Mao Mao had nothing to say. 

“I’ll cover the damages. It was my fault. I got mad. I just thought… you might have changed, or at least learned your lesson.” 

Jǐngtì stood up, grabbed his groceries, and walked away. 

Mao Mao wanted to feel sad. He wanted to feel regret. He wanted there to be tears in his eyes, he wanted to say something, but he had nothing. No regret. No remorse. No rage. All his emotions and energy had been spent up and burnt out. He just felt tired. So unbelievably tired. 

With nothing left to do, with nothing he wanted to do, he headed back home. 

* * * 

Somewhere along the long walk home, across the Valley’s grassy foothills, the pain had gone away. Actually, it would be better to say he had just gotten used to it. Maybe he’d just sleep with the shard in his side. He could probably take care of it tomorrow. Mao Mao felt a yawn come up, but he didn’t even have the energy to get it out. He put his head down and kept walking even though he was half-asleep. Habit and muscle memory would be enough to carry him the rest of the way. Maybe he’d get lucky and fall asleep with his eyes closed.

Mao Mao crossed the crest of the final foothill, absently hearing something. “Now where is he? I called and called, but he didn’t answer the phone. Does he actually live here? Thing looks like a dollhouse.” 

Mao Mao could have sworn he recognized the voice. Who did it belong too? It didn’t belong to anyone in the Valley. Who was it? Damn! The name was on the tip of his tongue. 

_ Bam! _

Mao Mao stumbled back clutching his bloody nose. Did he just walk into his own front door? That was what he gets for not paying attention.

“Mew Mew! There you are, my boy! What are you doin’ walking with your eyes closed? Don’t tell me you lost your sight. Already lost your arm can’t have you losin’ much more than that can we?” he said with a hearty gut-filled laugh Mao Mao hadn’t heard in nearly a decade. 

The realization knocked the wind out of Mao Mao. 

“Papa?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliff hangers are fun.  
If you enjoyed leave a kudos, subscribe to keep up with updates and feedback in the comments is much appreciated.  
Next Chapters title: The Torment of A Son  



	6. The Torment of A son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Shin Mao shows up for an unexpected visit Mao Mao's given the faint hope that maybe Papa isn't so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Graphic Depiction of Injury and Body Horror  
This one took some time to put out. Finals are a bitch (I say that, but the lowest grade I got on any of them was a C) and I've been busy playing games during winter break. I'm going to need to edit some tags after putting this up. This chapter is a perfect 10 pages which I really do like and is the second of the 3-part set, so there's that. If it's been too long since you read the last chapter and you don't exactly remember it I would recommend going to read that again since the set is a single story split into 3 parts. The song recommendation here is You're Insane - Escape the Fate. Heads up, if you followed SpookyLovesBoba on Tumblr you're going to want to do that again because their account got nuked for some reason.

Mao Mao struggled to look at his father. He’d like to say it was the sun, shining off his armor like a flashbang, but something in his chest hurt more than his eyes. Mao Mao licked his lips and rolled his tongue. There was something he wanted to say, however, he did need time to figure out what it was. He nearly bit his tongue when Papa slapped him on the back again. 

“So, you gonna invite me in or are we just gonna chill outside.” 

“Right, right, right…” Mao Mao droned off, shaking the handle when it didn’t open. 

Did he drop his keys, or did Jǐngtì take them? He’d have to make a copy when Badgerclops got back. 

“You lost your keys? Tsk, tsk, tsk, you gotta learn how to be more responsible to take care and be aware of things.” Shin simply walked through the door, doorframe, and wall, smashing the front of the house. 

Mao Mao barely caught himself from calling the hypocrite out, but he bit his tongue and swallowed his anger. He looked at the sky making a mental note to do something with the hole before it stormed tonight. 

Mao Mao carefully stepped over the broken wood while Shin looked around. He watched his father prowl around the room, finger to his chin, lips moving as he mumbled. If he tried he could probably understand the mumbles, but he let the words gloss over his ears. It was the best way to be near his father. Mao Mao would rather not listen to this jackasses’ bullshit. 

“Hey, Mao Mao,” Shin said, making Mao Mao turn up his head. “You’ve set a solid little place here. I’ve got to  _ hand  _ that to you.” 

Papa laughed and walked into the kitchen. Mao Mao balled his hand into a fist and followed him. 

Papa was making himself quite at home. Mao Mao watched him search through cabinets and drawers from the doorway. He could tell his father wasn’t moving aimlessly; he was looking for something. Mao Mao was going to ask when Shin glossed over the fridge and then doubled back. Mao Mao wondered if the idiot was looking for a bite to eat when Papa pulled off one of Adorabat’s drawings. He stared down at it intently: brow creased, rubbing his chin with a “hmm” sound. 

“What’s this?” he asked. 

“A drawing.” 

“Of course, but…” 

He handed the drawing to Mao Mao. It was crude and done in crayon, but there were a few unmistakable things about it. Lined up on a grassy hill was Adorabat, him, Tanya, Jǐngtì, and Badgerclops. He had to wonder how long it was up there. He never noticed it. The picture had a distinct family photo-like quality to it. He had to find some way to spin this.

He handed the picture back. “It’s a picture from an admirer. A small child called Adorabat. She’s the blue one.” 

“Odd color… who names their child Adorabat,” Shin mumbled. 

_ Who names their child Mao Mao Mao?  _

“Who are the other people?” 

He blinked a few times. “Those are just… some people I know. The one with the eyepatch -the black spot on his face- is Badgerclops. My partner. The brown one is Tanya Keys: a bounty hunter who was here a little bit ago.” 

“What about this one?” Papa pointed at the brown cat.

Mao Mao took a deep breath. “That’s Tanya’s son.” 

“Feel like I’ve seen his face before,” Papa snapped his fingers with a clang,” yeah. I’ve seen his face on wanted posters… in Queen’s Putland.” 

“He’s... been headed down the wrong path,” he said. 

Mao Mao didn’t notice himself drifting off. He only snapped back when Papa cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sure his mother can get a handle on him,” he said. 

“I hope she can.” 

Papa picked up the magnet and stuck it back on the fridge. 

He didn’t ask about the other pictures. 

Papa moved on, sifting through drawers before he sighed and scratched his head,” Hey, do you know where you keep your fist aid kit?” 

“Yeah, it's in the bathroom. Under the sink," Mao Mao continued,” why? You cut yourself or something?” 

Papa gave him a look of utter confusion. An eyebrow raised, lips parted slightly, like he Mao Mao wasn’t speaking the same language. “What? No. I’m getting it for you. You’re trackin’ blood all over the place. You look like you gave someone an arm and a leg,” he chuckled uncomfortably.

Mao Mao looked behind himself at the splotches of blood he’s tracked all over the house. His first thought was how hard the blood would be to get out of his nice hardwood floors. Then the dull pain reminded him of his wounds. He felt some kind of concern; a need to drop everything and call for help. It was the dying gasp of whatever self-preservation instinct he had left. All that just seemed so exhausting. He didn’t come home to start stitching wounds or deal with his father. He just wanted to rest. 

“I’ll clean it up,” Mao Mao said, already walking to get the mop when Papa grabbed him by the shoulder. 

“I’ll get the first-aid kit,” Papa said,” Why don’t you just... go have a seat.”

Mao Mao did as he was told. He limped his way to the living room couch and waited. He could hear his father rummaging around in the bathroom before coming back with the first-aid kit between his massive metal fingers and washbasin under his other arm. Everything always looked so small compared to him. 

Mao Mao took the kit without hesitation. Papa sat down and watched him work. Only having one arm made things harder, his tail did help, but some things were more difficult than before. He started with his feet first, washing them in the basic, applying ointment to the worn away paw-pads, and then wrapping them in gauze. 

The shard of glass in his side was next. A foreign object lodged in his lower right side below the kidneys and above the intestines. He supposed it was similar to a gunshot wound (although the shard of glass was larger and jagged), so he treated the procedure much of the same. He wrapped the gauze tightly around his torso seat-belt style to staunch the blood before getting a pair of tweezers to play a game of operation. He reached in, tightly grabbing the shard of glass. He ignored the fatigue burning in his only arm as he did his best to slowly and carefully pull it out. 

Mao Mao did his best to focus on what he was doing, yet his mind naturally wandered. It bounced from fleeting topic to fleeting topic, although a few questions liked to show up. Jǐngtì was one of them. More specifically, why did Jǐngtì hate him? The question was like a hot stove. Every time Mao Mao got close he was burned by a stinging well of emotions. He turned his attention away from the stove but cattish curiosity always dared him to put his fingers to the burner. 

_ Curiosity killed the cat _ , as they say. 

It didn't help that the next thing curiosity would lead him to was his father which was arguably worse. He watched Papa out the corner of his eye. He intently watched his son work without being direct, sneaking glances or watching him in the reflection of the stupid golden armor. He leaned forward, dominant hand folded over the other. He wanted to do something; he wanted to help.

Papa did nothing. Of course, he did nothing. He never does anything. The only thing Papa ever taught him was to do everything on his own. If Papa really wanted to help he’d explain why Jǐngtì hated him. 

A sharp pain yanked Mao Mao out of his thoughts. It's what he gets for not paying attention. He quickly set aside the freed shard of glass, parting the wound with his hand to get a good look. 

It was a fountain of blood. Deep breaths. A racing heart won’t help. 

_ Be calm and quick,  _ he reminded himself. The first step was dabbing most of the blood away and cleaning it with water, check to make sure no debris is in the wound, then grab a needle and thread. There was a prick of pain as it pierced his skin, and the sting as the thread was pulled through. 

Mao Mao didn’t let his missing arm stop him from doing things; his tail could work as a replacement more often than not, but there were some things best done with two hands. He held the needle in between his claws trying over and over to get the needle the other side. He grimaced at the painful pricks that were too shallow to pull the needle through. The bleeding hadn’t stopped; he was beginning to feel woozy. The tips of his fingers were numb. Was his anxiety from blood loss or knowing that he was having this much trouble just trying to finish one suture?

The needle fell from Mao Mao’s paws that were slick in his blood. Mao Mao scrambled to pick up the needle. He was so busy that he didn’t notice anything around him. It was only when Papa placed his paw over his son’s did Mao Mao stop. 

“I’ll do it,” he said,” just be still.” 

He didn’t have to tell him to be still; Mao Mao already was. He didn’t worry about blood loss either, because he was sure his heart had stopped.

Papa was out of his armor. _Papa was out of his armor._ He didn’t know anyone who’d seen him out of it. Not even his sisters had seen that. He was sure of it. He’d asked Brunhilde about the armor and she said it’d been grafted to his skin in a battle with a fire demon. Minori said that the armor was cursed by magic so he couldn’t take it off. Each of his sisters had a different story. All of them agreed on one thing: that Papa couldn’t take his armor off

There he was. A small shriveled up mockery of a man dressed in a weird-looking jumpsuit. And he was helping him. Was this Papa an imposter? Was it some stroke of luck? Did he fall into some strange alternate universe where Papactually cared about his son? 

“What happened?” 

“Huh?” 

“How’d you end up like,” Shin gestured vaguely,” this?” 

“I got into a fight.” 

“Did you win?” 

Mao Mao stiffened at the question. Whether he won, wasn’t important. 

“Why’d you visit,” Mao Mao asked, quickly shifting the topic. 

“You didn’t visit for the summer. We had to celebrate Tanabata without you.”

Mao Mao sank back into the sofa. He’d completely forgotten Tanabata was last week. This was the first time he’d missed Tanabata since he lost his arm. 

“How’s the family,” he asked flatly. 

“They’re fine. Nothing really, although everyone was asking about you. News that you’d settled down as a sheriff traveled fast. Funny, I always thought you’d stay a vagabond.” 

Mao Mao felt something. It was a warm feeling that nearly made him cry. It reminded him of a hug from his mom. Had Papa finally grown a heart? 

“Is that why you’re here?” 

“Yeah, you're mother asked me to check on you.” 

Of course, he didn’t. 

“Turn around so I can stitch up the wounds on your back,” he said,” Moo Moo. Moo Moo.” 

Mao Mao didn’t move. 

“Turn around, Mee Mee.” 

“No.” 

“What?” 

“No,” Mao Mao shouted as he stood up,” and get out!” 

“Wha- no! I’m not leaving you in… this shack. 

“That! What is that? You suddenly walk into my home and you give me the vaguest hope that your not terrible, but every other second you act like the biggest asshole I’ve ever met.” 

“What? What are you talking about?” 

“You break down my goddamn door, you openly admit that you came here because my mother sent you instead of giving a shit yourself, and you ask if I’ve won the fight when you should be asking if we’re going to a goddamn hospital, you even call my house a shack. It's not a shack! It’s where I live!” 

Mao Mao could hear his thumping in his ears. “All you do is antagonize me at every chance you get.” 

“That’s no way to talk to your father.” 

“You barely even count as my father. You treat every single one of my sisters better than me. I play sixth fiddle to every one of my sisters.” 

“Now that’s just preposterous. Give me one example of how I treat your sisters better.” 

“You know what to call my sisters, so I’ll ask this.” Mao Mao loomed over his father,” what is my name?” 

“I-, uh-,” Shin stumbled over his words. 

“I’ll give you a hint: it's yours too.” 

“...Shin junior?” 

Mao Mao didn’t know what came over him. All of the cold pain and sorrow that had built up suddenly burned red hot. He lashed out at his father. He only missed his father’s neck because Papa was as quick as he was short. He tossed the basin at his father’s head, flipped the table, and threw anything he could as he chased after him. He chased Papa through the kitchen, through the bedroom through the dojo, knocking, breaking, destroying anything and everything. 

Eventually, the fire burned out. The chase ended where it started. Mao Mao slowed down, climbed on the couch, huddled himself into a little ball, and cried. He just felt so tired. 

“Hey, don’t cry,” Papa said, tentatively taking a step forward. 

“You,” Mao Mao sobbed,” you are why I’m always the last to show up on the holidays and the first to leave. You always manage to get under my skin....the reason I blew up this time is that...I just thought… you might have changed, or at least learned your lesson.” 

Something clicked in Mao Mao’s head.”So that’s why he hates me,” Mao Mao said under his breath. 

He’d heard those words earlier today. From the son to the father, and again from the son to the father. The tears had stopped; the sadness was replaced by an immense, deadening sorrow. He had become the thing he hated, the thing he detested with every fiber of his being without even trying. 

“Did you know you're a grandfather?” Mao Mao blurted out. 

Papa seemed genuinely shocked by this. His eyes went saucer-wide, and he stumbled back. “I’m what?” 

“I have a son. He did this to me. I tried to keep him from suffering from the stuff you did to me, but it turns out that I did it to him anyway. Probably worse.” 

Mao Mao let out a chuckle,” God, what is this shit? Genetic?”

Papa stayed quiet. 

“You should go,” he told Papa. 

Quietly, Shin slipped back into his armor, turning to face the door. “Goodbye,” he said. 

Mao Mao stayed quiet. 

He stayed huddled up on the sofa. He didn’t know how long it was, but by the time he started moving the sky was black and thunder howled. He got up and went to the kitchen. I the fridge he grabbed every can of beer he could find; in the cabinet, he grabbed every bottle that was and wasn’t covered in a layer of dust. He sat on the floor, cracked open the first of a long set, ready for the trip down memory lane. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Backstory incoming.  
Next Chapters Title: In Death, Life Flashes Before My Eyes  
Be sure to leave a Kudos if you Enjoyed, bookmark to stay updated, and comments much appreciated.


	7. In Death, Life Flashes Before My Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say that the reason life flashes before your eyes when you die that is your subconscious searching for information that could possibly save your life. It's sad that Mao Mao is doing anything but that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a while to come out. Mostly because it's kind of long and I had to reorganize and outline it twice before actually getting into it. I had to cut two big scenes out, otherwise, the chapter would be like 20 pages, and I'm saving all of us that trouble. This chapter is definitely most morose. I'm probably going to need to add the depression and alcoholism tags after putting this chapter up, aren't I? Let's celebrate reaching a major milestone in the series! YAY!!!!!  
As always follow SpookylovesBoba, and enjoy the chapter.

Mao Mao sat alone. Drinking and thinking. Thinking and drinking. Something about today had brought out his masochistic side. He placed his hand on one stove hot memory after the next. Some were arguably good ones. Some were practically nightmares. He was sifting through his own memories like a gold crazed idiot panning a riverbed. 

However, Mao Mao was looking for anything but gold. He needed to know what went wrong. 

Maybe he shouldn't have gotten with Tanya in the first place, or maybe he shouldn't have had a child in the first place. He had just turned 18, Tanya was only a year older than him. They were still kids. They were too young, too immature. An 18-year-old teenager isn’t ready for the kind of responsibility it takes to raise a child. He knew that then and he definitely knew that now… yet he did it anyway. 

Why did he get with Tanya in the first place? 

Mao Mao took a bottle of brandy to his lips, disappointed to find it empty as he began to remember. 

* * *

It was after he had already lost his arm and began dressing in red. They were somewhere in the kingdom of Queen’s Putland. He and Tanya were active in that area for quite some time. Tanya was hurting for money and found a contract she desperately needed, but on the way, it started to rain. Instead of spending his birthday camping, Tanya led him to a shady pub hidden in the trunk of a tree. It wasn’t the kind of place he'd like to spend his 18th birthday, but the kind gesture did make him blush. 

Despite being hidden the place was buzzing with activity. Every seat at the tables was filled and a sea of people surrounded that. Someone sat down as soon as another got up. Strangers talked freely like everyone was a friend. It was strange. He didn’t know people could be this friendly. Tanya dragged him out of his thoughts, pulling him to the empty stools at the bar. 

“Whaddya want,” the Bartender Baboon asked. 

“Gimme a vodka buck and- ,” Tanya turned to her side,” Mao Mao what are you getting?” 

“What do they have to eat?” 

“Its’ no fun to drink on a full stomach.” 

“I’m not thirsty, I’m hungry. I don’t even like the taste of alcohol.” 

Tanya rolled her eyes before her eyes lit up with an idea. “And virgin will have hard cider.” 

“Hey!” 

“And wings,” she added. 

“I was objecting to the virgin part,” he said. 

“If you don’t like being called a virgin, well… I can help you with that.” 

“What,” Mao Mao rebuffed,” no, what’re you-, that’s just-, no.” 

Tanya just laughed at Mao Mao, pinching his rosy, red cheeks. “You’re adorable, virgin.”

The bar baboon came back with the drinks and wings. Tanya didn’t hesitate to start drinking; Mao Mao pulled the plate of wings of closer.

“For the love of god don’t eat wings with your gloves on,” Tanya said. 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he snarked back. 

“You’re so weird about your gloves,” she said. 

“They’re just gloves.” 

“That you never take off.” 

“I do take them off.” 

“Oh yeah? When?” 

“When I get in the shower. When I take a bath-”

“You only take them off when you need to get nakey, is that right?” 

“Well, I guess…” 

“Does that include sex? Or do you wear them during that too?” 

“Well... I mean I guess I’d take them off for canoodling.”

Tanya looked at him, stunned, almost confused before the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. “Oh my god you call it canoodling,” she said in between laughs. 

“It’s not funny!” 

“Oh don’t worry, Virgin. It was… cute. Calm down and get drunk with me.” 

Mao Mao grumbled and took a sip of the cider. It wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be. The cider was thick and tasted of autumn apples, instead of alcohol. Although, he could still feel it burn the back of his throat. 

The bar baboon had watched all of that take place with some interest. “Did your parents really name you Virgin,” he asked. 

“...They had a habit of screwing me over,” Mao Mao said. He didn’t like lying, but what he said wasn’t exactly a lie. 

Mao Mao and the bartender continued to talk, eventually, Tanya joined in too. It was odd. Maybe it was the jovial atmosphere of the pub, maybe it was the alcohol, but the walls people put up just broke down. There was no such thing as oversharing. He, Tanya, and the bartender just became part of the crowd. Before he knew it Mao Mao had counted 4 pints of cider. He learned that the Bartender came from a small family and that he was bartending as a way to get money. He hoped to become a musician later. Despite learning all that about him Mao Mao never actually got to ask him his name. 

He could have kept talking, but Tanya had already hit her limit on booze. The glass of water was proof that it was time to leave. Where did he put his wallet? He stopped searching when Tanya placed what little money she had left to cover the bill.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said. 

“Come on it's your birthday. I can’t get you a cake, so at least let me treat you. Happy Birthday, Virgin.” 

That simple gesture made something click into place in Mao Mao’s head. H liked Tany; he cared for her too. He just wasn't sure if she cared for him. That gesture proved she did. Mao Mao blinked a few tears out of his eyes, struggling to process the well of emotions. 

“You alright, Virgin?” 

Mao Mao didn't say anything. He leaned over and gave Tanya a small kiss on the cheek. 

The bartender let out a long whistle. 

A slow smile formed across her face and she let out a small bark of laughter. “What was that? I could’ve sworn you thought PDA was illegal.”

Mao Mao fiddled with his tail between his fingers. “We… never really celebrated my birthday back home. Thank you for… caring about me.” 

“Hey, Mao Mao,” Tanya spoke up,” do you wanna make more of this?”

“Sure.” 

Tanya picked Mao Mao up by the arm and pulled him to the bathroom in the back of the pub. She stopped calling him virgin after that. Once she saw him without gloves she gave him a new nickname:  _ Mittens.  _

* * *

And that’s how Jǐngtì was made. Needless to say, it wasn’t how he imagined his first time would be. It wasn’t romantic. It wasn’t started under the ever blossoms, or started with some grand and fancy gestures. Instead, it was done in the bathroom of a bar that almost definitely didn’t have an alcohol license. He didn’t think it’d be the start of anything. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. They were supposed to stay friends, maybe friends with benefits, not parents. 

Jǐngtì... 

Mao Mao let out a slight huff in amazement. It's not a thing he should say, but Jǐngtì shouldn’t exist. He wasn’t being mean it was just how biology worked. Mao Mao’s a cat. Tanya’s a tanuki. Their species weren’t even apart of the same phylum or genus. They shouldn’t even be able to have a kid by scientific standards, but Tanya wasn’t scientific. The OB-GYN said it was due to Tanya’s magical nature that the pregnancy was even possible. Her magic was more than skin deep. It was the incredible magic stored in every cell that made the pregnancy possible, even then, the odds of pregnancy were less than 10/1. He only exists due to magic. 

Mao Mao never liked magic. 

Badgerclops didn’t like magic tricks; Mao Mao didn’t magic tricks either, but genuine magic was something he disliked far more. Magic could be unwieldy at best and a monkey’s paw at worst. At first, he thought Jǐngtì leaned towards being the former, but he was very much the latter. The child did permanently tie Tanya and him together, but it was also the reason they’d permanently split apart. 

The reason he and Tanya split apart was an “irreconcilable difference” as marriage counselors would like to call it. Ignoring the fact that they never got married, It wasn’t anything so disgustingly formal, just two people realizing that they’d never see eye to eye, and it was best to split apart. There was no yelling; only mutual understanding. It was an adult’s hell.

Mao Mao rolled away empty cans of beer down the empty hall as the memories came back to him. 

* * * 

Mao Mao waited in the lobby of an abandoned hotel. It reeked of mildew and mold. The boards had more than rotted through. He sat in an old lounge chair filled with holes and leaking cotton, waiting for Tanya to get back. He bided his time by chewing his claws off, wincing in pain when he went too far. Patience was never his virtue. 

Get back from where? 

Jǐngtì’s preliminary hearing. 

The child had taken the worst qualities of both parents. Tanyas tendency to overlook laws, and Mao Mao’s incessant need to go above and beyond. From the way Jǐngtì told it, he was looking to make quick cash, and instead of asking his parents or even doing something kind of shady, he turned his eyes to glittering jewels and gold on the monarchs’ crown. Even Jǐngtì’s half-baked magic would be more than enough to succeed at his heist. He should have known something was up when Jǐngtì started hurrying them out of the city. Perhaps he should have listened to his child… too late for any of that now. Justice had already caught up and was doing its thing. 

He shifted his head up when he heard thumping on the floor above him, following the sound who leaped down the broken staircase to the lobby. She dusted cobwebs out of her fur, muttering something so fast Mao Mao couldn’t understand. He watched her pace in large circles around the lobby. 

He waited for the small gap when she took a breath to ask his first question. “How did the hearing go?” 

“Did you hear anything I said?” 

“You muttered.” 

Tanya pinched the bridge of her nose. “Jǐngtì clearly lost.” 

“Well, yeah. He admitted it to us, and there's a written confession.” 

“Are you trying to help or make feel like shit?”

He placed a hand on Tanya’s shoulder,” I know the penal code requires bail be set before the final trial.” 

She brushed his hand off,” the bail doesn’t matter.” 

“Why? What’s wrong with the bail?” 

“It’s 300-million fucking dollars.” 

Now the way Tanya was acting made sense. He pursed his lips and began to think. What to do? What to do? $300,000,000 was more than a king’s ransom. He was sure it was worth more than some countries. He’d say they were probably overreacting, but it was probably low-balling the price of the crown. That was more money than he even considered bringing with him when he left home. 

Home… His family certainly had that kind of money to throw around. 

No. Mao Mao pushed the thought from his mind. He’ll make the compulsory visits for the holidays, but he’ll be the last to arrive and the first to leave. He wasn’t going to ask for their help. He hated them. He wasn’t going to explain his new family to them. Not Tanya, and certainly not Jǐngtì. This was not the Mao clan’s problem. He’d become a hero and make his legend without them. 

He had hoped that bail would give him an out. Unfortunately, his hopes were pointless. He had something to tell Tanya. He hoped he wouldn’t, but...what else is there to do?

“What are we going to do? What are we going to do?” Tanya asked herself, pacing around the room again. “What are we going to do?” 

“Should we even do anything,” he asked.

Tanya stopped, slowly turning to face Mao Mao. “What?” 

“I don’t think there is much we can -should- do,” he clarified. 

“Explain.” 

“Well… Jǐngtì did steal the crown. Putland has every right to be mad and prosecute-”

“So, we’re supposed to let them do whatever they want with him?” 

“I know the penal code. He’s too young to be executed and besides they couldn’t do an execution until after the crown was found. We would still be able to visit him in jail-” 

“Stop!” Tanya snapped before softening,” Mittens, just stop.” 

Mao Mao waited while Tanya put her face in her hands before looking up. “I’m going to need you to make a choice. Are you siding with Putland, or Jǐngtì. Do you care more about your principals or your son?” 

“What? How can you ask that?” 

“I’m going to need your answer.” 

Mao Mao hesitated. “A hero… can’t ignore the law.” 

“Then,” she pointed to the two of them,” isn’t going to work. We aren’t going to work.”

Her voice was flat and stern. Something she used on her bounty’s not him. 

“Tanya...” he was about to reach out, but couldn't bring himself to.

“I wish you well or whatever. I have things to do,” he said, looking him in the eye,” goodbye Mao Mao.” 

She hadn’t called him Mao Mao in years. He was still numb when he packed his things and left. All he could think about was how much he needed a drink.

* * * 

Mao Mao writhed on the kitchen floor. He felt sad for himself. He regretted his actions. He was angry at the world. The torrent, swirl, and monsoon of emotion threatened to tear him apart. He could feel it all mixing up inside of him with a scorching intensity.

He needed a drink. 

He felt around the bottles and cans surrounding him. All empty. Mao Mao turned his attention upwards, toward where the alcohol was shelved. He climbed onto the counter, reaching into the depths. He gripped the last bottle by the neck. He tried to pull back but tripped over his own feet. Instead of trying to break the fall he hit the floor, holding his saving grace up and out of harm's way. 

He crawled his way to the living room. He climbed onto the couch to take a breath. The saving grace in his hands was an emerald green bottle of  saké: Japanese rice wine. It was a gift he got from Papa a while back. How disgustingly vapid. He didn’t like alcohol, and he certainly didn’t like his father. 

Mao Mao uncorked the bottle and began to drink. It reeked painfully flowers that poorly covered the burning in the back of his throat. It hurt. Everything hurt. How’d he get here? How’d he become such a mess? He was a stupid disgusting mess. Full of mistakes. Full of regrets. He sacrificed everything else to try and become a hero, only to have that last thing run away from him too. He only tried to do what’s right. He was supposed to be building a legend, becoming a hero worth remembering, worth loving. 

It was all his fault. 

“I wish there was someone else to do it,” he slurred, “I was I didn't have to do any of this. I wish there was someone else to try and be justice. I wish that there was someone out there to be fighting evil! I don’t want to be the one always trying to do what's right!” 

He finished screaming and felt nothing, but embarrassment. “What am I doing? Yelling at nobody, but still... I’d give my heart and soul for that.” 

Mao Mao lied down on the couch, barely able to stomach alcohol, and stomach himself even less. Eventually, he blacked out. 

* * * 

Badgerclops sat in Camille's tower. Adorabat was sleeping in his lap. He wanted to be sleeping too, but worry kept him awake. 

Mao Mao laid on a bed in the center of the room. IV-tubes went in and out of his arms and he was wearing an oxygen mask. Camille and Honey worked quickly, concocting potion after potion, doing something magical. He’d be impressed if he wasn’t so tired. He needed sleep. Worry was the only thing keeping him awake. He watched Mao Mao for any signs of movement, any signs of life. 

When Mao Mao opened his eyes, Badgerclops jumped to his feet, startling Adorabat awake. 

“Are you alright,” he asked, realizing the answer to that was a pretty obvious no. 

“Where- Where am I,” he asked, stumbling through every word. 

“Camille's tower, man. We came back. You weren’t breathing. Adorabat was really scared.”

“Oh...I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize, just… why? What were you thinking?” 

“I was just… thinking it’d be nice to be loved, for once.” 

“I love you, Mao Mao.” 

Mao Mao stopped and looked at Adorabat. He stopped to process what she said before sniffling. He tried to blink the tears out of his eyes, but it didn’t work. He threw his arm around Adorabat, tears falling down his face. “Thank you,” he said, over and over again. He had never seen Mao Mao cry before. It was a steady, light, and quiet stream. Badgerclops joined the group hug, scooping them up in his arms. It was a warm and soft hug that all three of them were slow to break. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While angst is fun, its time to delve into lighter tones as we enter the next arc. How long will the happiness last? ...well I can't spoil that now can I?  
Next Chapters Tile: What I Missed  
Be sure to leave a Kudos if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated and bookmark to stay updated with the series.


	8. What I Missed...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bagderclops is left to maintain the kingdom while Mao Mao stays in the hospital, unfortunately the valley never likes to stay quiet for long...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho boy, this chapter was longer than I expected (again) so this is again going to be split into two parts. So, the title won't make the most sense. I've been putting off uploading it for.... reasons. Regardless, this chapter has very little Mao Mao in it, instead I focused a bit more on comedy. I feel that we need some light-hearted fun after Mao Mao's nonsense. The song recommendation here is Queens of The Stone Age - Go With The Flow. As always, follow Spookylovesboba on Tumblr/twitter/youtube, and enjoy the chapter.

_ What happened?  _

That was the only question in Badgerclops mind as he picked up the broken pieces of wood. Headquarters was a wreck. The front door had been smashed to pieces, along with a large part of the wall. The TV was broken, which sucks. What doubly sucked was that their couch, Sofia they called it, had fluff flowing like blood. The destruction went through the entire HQ. Not even the dojo was spared. Axes, maces, spears, swords, knives, and arrows sticking out of the walls and floors like the spines on a porcupine. 

And it was all on Badgerclops to clean it up. He didn’t even have Adorabat to help him. She wouldn’t leave Mao Mao’s side, besides, he didn’t want to bring a hyperactive 5-year-old to this tetanus factory. At least his metal hand couldn’t get splinters. It made gathering all the broken pieces of wood much easier. What wouldn’t be so easy was the repairs. The windows were broken, and duct tape might fix the sofa. Duct tape wouldn’t fix the broken equipment in the garage. He couldn’t even salvage any tapes because those were torn apart, too! 

_ What the hell happened?  _

Badgerclops didn't have time to wonder because the monster alarm began blaring throughout the house. Fine by him, he hated cleaning up. He slid down the pole to the garage, hopping onto the aerocycle. It roared to life despite the damage. Riding the adrocycle alone, Badgerclops couldn’t help but think that it seemed… bigger. He ignored the feeling. Badgerclops revved the engines and slammed right into the garage. His face left a nice imprint on the metal shutters. 

“Oh, come on! How did you manage to break the fucking garage, too!” he screamed, clutching his bloody nose. 

He blasted a hole in the garage with his laser-cannon (he was going to need to fix the garage anyway) and rocketed towards the valley. 

* * * 

Badgerclops landed in the valley plaza. Sweetipies were in a panic, running around like chickens with no heads. Muffins was hiding in her bakery, Pinky was throwing bricks through the windows of said bakery. Pinky may be worse than smallpox, but he couldn’t cause this much chaos. At least, not often. 

Badgerclops thoughts were cut short, quickly stepping out the way of a laser bolt that left a black stain on the ground. 

“Fear me!” Orangusnake yelled, firing a laser tool at the valley. “The Ruby Pure Heart belongs to the Sky Pirates.” 

Where’d he even get a piece of heavy artillery?

The entire group stood on one of the roofs with their laser cannon. While the piece of artillery was concerning what was sitting next to it made him open his right eye. The cybernetics zoomed-in, identifying  Jǐngtì with a yellow danger outline. If he was half as strong as his father he’d be trouble. More worrisome was that fighting Jǐngtì could anger Mao Mao, and that man had earned his red danger outline. 

Badgerclops didn’t think he’d be trouble. Jǐngtì looked less than thrilled. He sat down with his feet dangling over the edge, the purple bandana over his face as he looked off into the distance. Badgerclops hoped it stayed that way. 

Badgerclops turned his hand into a megaphone. “Attention all Sky Pirates under the authority of the Pure Hart Sheriff, please kick yourselves out before we do it for you!” 

“Like you have that authority! You aren’t the sheriff,” Orangusnake yelled back. 

“What! Of course, I do. I’m the sheriff!” 

“No. Mao Mao’s the sheriff. You’re just a… cop, I guess.” 

“I can be the sheriff, too!” 

“I don’t think you can.” 

“Listen, I’m not gonna take this from someone who can’t tie their own shoes.” 

“Actually,”  Jǐngtì spoke up from the sidelines,” Orangusnake’s right. There is only one sheriff per county, which considering Mao Mao’s head law officer of this  _ entire  _ kingdom it would make more sense to call him police commissioner or maybe chief of police. While he is right in saying there can only be one sheriff, it doesn’t make sense to call Mao Mao a sheriff.” 

Orangusnake raised an eyebrow,” where’d you even learn that?” 

“Learned a lot of law stuff in prison, but fun facts about law enforcement doesn’t matter. We’re here to take the Ruby Pure Heart not shoot the shit with a cop,” said with a roll of his eyes. 

“Right, and  their precious, little sheriff isn’t here to stop us!” 

“That’s because he’s in the hospital,” Badgerclops answered. 

“Oh, is he going to be okay?” 

“Camille said he should be out in a week.” 

“Tell him I wish him well.” 

“You do know that your villains and he’s the sheriff, right?” 

Orangusnake squinted his eyes. The gears in his head slowly turning as he realized the problem. “Uh… I hope he stays in the hospital?” 

“Wow, going to say that you hope he stays in the hospital when his son is right there? That’s so mean. I think you owe him an apology,” Badgerclops said, exaggerating every expression with a thespian flare. 

“Oh… I’m sorry.” 

Jǐngtì rubbed his temples. “Orangusanke, for the love of God, don’t listen to the cop.”

“Okay, geez… don’t have to be so mean about it.” 

While messing with them was fun Badgerclops figured it was time to move on. He charged his arm cannon and pointed it at the group. “Hey, Jǐngtì can you move to the right.” 

“Fuck off.” 

“...Hey Sky Pirates, can you move to the left?” 

“Okay,” they said in unison. 

As soon as they moved away from Jǐngtì Badgerclops took the shot. The blue energy blast taking them -and a sizeable chunk of the roof- flying over the horizon. 

“What did I just say,” Jǐngtì screamed at the speck flying over the horizon. 

“Give it a rest Daddy-Issues.”

“Yeah, I know. Banging my head against a brick wall," Jǐngtì muttered, "why aren’t they in prison?" 

"They are  _ surprisingly  _ stubborn,"

“We’re okay,” was heard echoing over hills, right one cue.

Badgerclops gestured for Jǐngtì to come down. Jǐngtì simply gave him the middle finger. Badgerclops crossed his arms and gestured again. Jǐngtì turned away, refusing to look him in the eye, but Badgerlcops kept staring at him. The silence stretched on for five minutes before Jǐngtì relented with an exasperated sigh. He pushed himself off the roof, dropping to the ground with deceptive grace. He certainly was more dexterous than his mother, perhaps his father, too. Badgerclops’ cybernetics made note of that. 

“What do you want,” he spat. 

“Nothing, I just wanna check on you,” Badgerclops said in a white-lie.

Jǐngtì seemed to notice something was up. He cocked his head to the side and looked Badgerclops up and down, ear twitching while he thought, his paw dangerously close to that golden dagger. Was he going to attack?

Badgerclops jumped when Jǐngtì suddenly crossed his arms. “Why,” he asked. 

“Cause your father would be devastated if anything happened to you.” 

Another half-truth. 

“Fine. What do you want to ask?” 

“Nothing, just come with me,” Badgerclops said. 

Jǐngtì gave him a dismissive wave of the paw but followed behind Badgerclops anyway.

First, Badgerclops had to do the normal formalities and procedures. He normally the official nonsense to Mao Mao. Shame the bootlicking stickler wasn’t here. First was the piece of artillery. Badgerclops could tell it was old and those idiots probably couldn’t modify any cannons the airship had. Could they? 

“Hey, Daddy-Issues! Know where they got this?” 

“In one of the trash piles at the junkyard.” 

What the hell was this doing in the junkyard? Questions for later. Right now, he should take a page out of the SKy Pirates book and salvage the trash. Badgerclops went to work with his metal arm, disassembling it, quickly packing it up, and then tossing it all the way back to HQ. With any luck, he could use the parts to fix the garage. 

Next was examining the damages. There was the torn roof which he’d blame the Sky Pirates, and that was about it for damages. Oh! And that soot mark on the ground. Badgerclops turned his hand into a hose to wash it off but stopped when he noticed something was off. The black spot wasn’t a scorch mark. It was a hole. 

Badgerlcops kneeled down and peered into it. The hole was deep, dark, and dangerous. A hollow space under the plaza was a massive sinkhole risk. He was also sure that some sweetiepie would fall in sooner or later. He was fine with Pinky disappearing into the abyss, but God forbid anything happens to Muffins. 

Badgerclops went to patch the hole when he heard Jǐngtì call out,” Hey, fat man.” 

“Call me Badgerclops.”  _ You rude little bastard.  _

“I refuse to believe that’s your actual name, but whatever. You know what this pink, disgusting thing is?” 

“That’s just Pinky. Ignore him and he’ll go bother someone else.” 

“It’s not the rhino. It's another pink, disgusting thing.” 

“Please don’t describe our King like that.” 

“I’m not talking about the lion, although he is also pink and disgusting.” 

“Then what are you talking about?” 

“Just look over your shoulder.” 

“What do you want me to… see..,” Badgerclops words droned off when he turned around. 

A blob the size of a house sat in front of them. At least Jǐngtì was right to call it pink and disgusting.

“You know what this is?” Badgerclops asked. 

“Why would I know? I got here last month, and I’ve spent most of that hanging with a group of idiots.” 

“Just don’t mess with it,” Badgerclops said, taking a few steps to get a full picture of the creature. 

_ It was pink, a semi-liquid, Newtonian fluid… What was Jǐngtì doing? _

Jǐngtì stood next to the blob, staring back at Badgerlcops with petty defiance in his eyes. He reared back and kicked the blob as hard as he could. Badgerclops tensed up, expecting something to happen. The blob did nothing except shake like a mound of jello. 

“Be careful! If you get hurt your father’s going to hold me responsible.”

“It’s always about my father-” 

The blob lashed out. Landing a swift strike to the stomach that sent the boy sprawling across the pavement. 

“Jǐngtì!” 

Badgerlcops rushed to Jǐngtì’s side, holding him in his arms. Is he okay? Badgerclops didn't know what to do. The kid made a strange  _ hrrrk, hrrk,  _ noise from the back of his throat. What was it? It couldn’t be good, right? Suddenly, Jǐngtì pushed away from Badgerclops. He stumbled to a stop before emptying the contents of his stomach all over the ground. When he was done vomiting Jǐngtì stumbled back, almost falling until Badgerclops caught him. 

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” Jǐngtì said even though the lie was as plain as the nose on his face. 

Badgerclops lead Jǐngtì to a nearby bench for him to catch his breath. “How does this feel,” he said, kneeling down to gently touch the bruise on Jǐngtì’s stomach. 

Jǐngtì winced in pain, which was enough of an answer. Badgerclops robotic eye revealed that the kid didn’t have any ruptured organs, but they were definitely bruised. He made a mental note to take him to Camille before remembering Mao Mao was there.  _ What to do? What to do? _ He wasn’t going to leave without making sure Jǐngtì would be okay. 

“Hey, Jǐngtì…,” Badgerclops said, looking up to see Jǐngtì wiping tears from his eyes.“You know, I don’t care if you cry, right?” 

Jǐngtì waved Badgerclops away, making Badgerclops chuckled before he cleared his throat. “Hey, Jǐngtì uhh… do you need a place to stay? Cause your dad’s not going to be home, and I figure you need a place to stay.”

“Don’t you need to do something about the blob?” 

“I’ll set up some tape around it and maybe it won’t hurt too many sweetipies.” 

“It already ate the pink rhino thing.” 

Badgerclops looked up to see that Jǐngtì was right. Pinky was floating in the mucus. Unfortunately, he wasn’t suffocating. 

“Well, I’ll also give it a medal or something.” 

“You can stand, right,” Badgerclops said, helping Jǐngtì to his feet.

_ Things have really gotten out of hand haven’t they, _ he thought to himself. Badgerclops wearily eyed Jǐngtì. He was a criminal; there was no dispute about that, but Jǐngtì needed someone to watch him, not arrest him. For the time being, at least. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter Title: ...Was Every Side Of The Story


	9. ...Was Every Side Of The Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jǐngtì was an ever-troubled child, but unlike Badgerclops, he was in the Valley when Mao Mao got hut. Perhaps he knows something...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're back at it again in this Krispy Kreme, so let the standard procedure reign. The chapter is a mix of sad and happy, not too fluffy, not too angsty. I think it's kind of sweet as it falls into a Hurt/comfort kind of category, so enjoy that if you can. As always follow @spookylovesboba on varying social media, the song rec this time is: Figure it Out - Royal Blood, and enjoy the chapter.

Badgerclops regretted having Jǐngtì stay over. Not because of anything Jǐngtì did, but because he somehow managed to forget HQ was still a wreck. Jǐngtì raised an eyebrow when he saw the mess yet he took it in stride. He didn’t mind helping clean up the mess. Jǐngtì took to the physical labor without much complaint. He gathered broken pieces of wood into a large pile, declining the gloves Badgerclops offered, to pull out splinters like they weren’t an issue. He was tough and stubborn like his father, although Badgerclops wouldn’t tell him that. Maybe it was the two of them together, but they finished cleaning by night. Jǐngtì slept on haphazard bedding made of blankets and pillows not bothered by its ramshackle nature. 

Badgerclops sat against the wall, watching the steady rise and fall of Jǐngtì’s chest. He was tempted to join Jǐngtì and get some sleep. Badgerclops did the math in his head.  Camille  said Mao Mao would be ready to leave by the end of the week, so if he spent the night fixing the tech he can order new furniture tomorrow as well as head down to the valley to buy the supplies to fix the missing floorboards, gashes in the wall and everything else by the time Mao Mao got back. That’d be a nice surprise. 

And a lot of work. 

Badgerclops groaned as he got up. He was emotionally and physically drained. He walked over to the computer, pressing the power and waiting. The screen was still black. He pressed the power button again and waited. The screen still stayed black.  _ Did he break this too _ , Badgerclops wondered, getting down o his knees to make sure everything was plugged in. 

_ What’s that _ ?

Hidden underneath the desk was something that shined. Musta’ve missed it when cleaning up. Badgerclops rolled it between his fingers. It was a piece of tech. A broken piece of tech. Badgerclops flicked it into the trash. He watched it land with a metallic  _ clank.  _ Badgerclops then dug the piece of tech out of the trash. He looked over his shoulder to make sure Jǐngtì was sound asleep before sitting at the desk and switching on the desk lamp. Badgerclops shook his shoulders, flexed his fingers, and took a deep breath, inhaling the… nostalgia? Is that what he should call the feeling? Alone at his desk. Alone with his machines. Alone with the unknown. 

The piece of tech in front of him was small, slender, and shiny. The exterior made of gold that was strengthened into a magic alloy with something else. The tip of it was filled with pressure and heat sensors that fed into wires inside. That knowledge combined with the hinge at the end lead Badgerclops to conclude that the piece of tech was a finger. 

_ From what _ , he asked himself. Besides not being able to afford magic-enhanced gold, Badgerclops never remembered even starting a project like this. Mao Mao certainly couldn’t have made this, and Jǐngtì doesn’t seem like a craftsman either. However, Jǐngtì may have brought it. He could have found it in the junkyard, tucked it away, and then simply lost it. He’d have to ask him. 

Badgerclops looked over at Jǐngtì to see him still asleep. Badgerclops shrugged it off, going back to the finger and the warm feeling of memories, late nights spent in enjoyable solitude. He was just beginning to examine the finger with his eye when he noticed an assortment of alarms he set aside. Badgerclops had to cover his mouth to keep him from yelling in his panic. 

He forgot to pick up Adorabat. 

* * * 

Badgerclops snuck out as quietly as he could. Flying back into the valley at the wee hours of the morning. It was a cold night. The wind was blowing. It’d probably rain tomorrow err… today considering it was 2:30. Couldn’t the weather wait until he fixed the holes in the roof? How did Mao Mao even do that, anyway? Badgerclops landed at the entrance to Camille’s tower. He opened the door with a creek, peeking inside before stepping in.

Camille and Honey were off to the side brewing something. Honey noticed him first. She poked her teacher in the side, nearly making Camille drop her potion. Mao Mao lay on the cot in the center. He and Adorabat were sleeping soundly in each other's arms. Badgerclops walked around the table considering the best way to get Adorabat without waking them up. He considered letting Adorabat stay, but she had school in the morning. He slowly reached out, stopping when Mao Mao shifted and continuing when he settled back down. He pulled Adroabat from Mao Mao’s grasp. For a second, he envisioned himself as Indiana Jones, carefully replacing the idol, however, instead of taking an idol from a ruined temple he was taking a child from a ruined man.  _ I should watch those movies when I get back _ , he thought until he remembered that the TV was broken. 

Once Badgerclops had Adroabat he paused, waiting for something to go wrong. He looked down to make sure Adorabat was still sleeping in his arms, and then he looked up to make sure Mao Mao wasn’t awake either. Badgerclops let out a sigh of relief, as Camille and Honey approached. 

“How are things,” he whispered.

“He’s not in any danger of dying, right now. Mostly scrapes, abrasions, bruised bones, a broken rib. He had a large shard of glass in his right pectoral, and a 3-inch hole in his lower left side.” 

Badgerclops had to take a deep breath and remind himself to use his inside voice. “A 3-inch what ?” 

“Yeah, on his lower left side. 3 inches in diameter. Took a bit of his intestines.”

“Is he going to be okay?” 

“Well, you’re lucky he drank so much. If he hadn’t basically made his blood rubbing alcohol that gaping hole in his side would probably be infected,” Camille said. “The wound in itself isn’t life-threatening.” 

“Okay. Okay. Okay. That’s...good,” Badgerclops said trying to reassure himself. 

“You worry too much. He’ll be fine,” Camille said, with Hoey practically pushing Badgerclops out the door. “Now go put the baby to bed. 

With those closing remarks, the door closed behind him. Until Camille poked her head out. “Oh! And don’t forget to pick Mao Mao up at the end of the week!” 

* * * 

Badgerclops slowly glided the Aerocycle back down to the ground on the lawn of HQ. He carried Adorabat back inside, choosing to put her to bed next to Jǐngtì. He carefully laid Adorabat down without waking either up. It was kind of weird seeing her sleep lying down in a bed. She normally sleeps upside down -she is a bat after all- but she slept soundly.

Badgerclops’ lingered on them a little longer before turning away to go back to working on the mechanical finger at the desk. He absentmindedly poked and prodded at the mechanical finger, until he heard the light rustling of blankets and the soft, feline-steps heading towards the dojo. Badgerclops sighed. It was a cold night so he brewed two cups of tea before heading to the dojo. 

It was a cool summer night outside. A breeze made it colder. Jǐngtì leaned against the railing. Badgerclops leaned against the doorway, watching him for a time. Jǐngtì didn’t react to Badgerclops, although Badgerclops could tell Jǐngtì knew he was there. His ears turned to follow noise just like his father’s. He’d have to tell him about Mao Mao eventually. 

Badgerclops walked up next to Jǐngtì, handing him the cup. “It’s cold out tonight.” 

“That’s a terrible conversation starter,” he said, taking a sip before grimacing. “Did you microwave this?” 

“Maybe.” 

Jǐngtì rolled his eyes and set his cup to the side. 

There was a moment of silence before Jǐngtì spoke up again. “Where did you go?” 

“To pick up Adorabat.” 

Jǐngtì nodded without saying anything. 

The silence was just settling in again when Badgerclops cleared his throat. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but your dad is in the hospital.” 

“I know.” 

Badgerclops was taken aback. “How’d you know?” 

“You mentioned it yesterday when bantering with Orangusnake.” 

“I did, didn't I?”

“Don’t worry about it. I already knew about it before that anyway.” 

“How?” 

Jǐngtì sank down, burying his head in his arms. “I’m the one who called 9-1-1.” 

“Did you put him in the hospital?” 

“What! No! I-,” Jǐngtì sank further down, stammering to get his sentence out. 

Jǐngtì took a moment to catch himself, to stop his shuddering breath, to blink the tears out his eyes. “I... I got a call from him. I didn’t know the Sky Pirates had a phone, or that Mao Mao knew their number. Well, they don’t anymore. I broke it. But, I got a call. I didn’t answer it, but… I did listen to the voicemail later. Not much later just a minute or two, but the voicemail got me worried that he’d… do something…  _ dangerous  _ because of me.” 

_ Oh! Oh… Jǐngtì was blaming himself.  _

Badgerclops placed a supportive on his back. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said.

Jǐngtì turned away, resting his head on his hand, shaking his head with a tired sigh. 

_ He was like his mother when he's angry _ , Badgerclops thought, _ doesn’t yell or scream, just feels exhausted.  _ Badgerclops didn’t know what to do. He stood next to Jǐngtì. His hand on his back in a half-hearted attempt to be reassuring. He wanted to say something, yet he knew that he’d have to pick his words carefully. He’d already fucked it up by accusing him of putting his father in the hospital. He wanted to ask what happened. Jǐngtì certainly knew something Badgerclops didn’t.

Was he willing to pry the information out of Jǐngtì? 

Not anymore.

“I heard my mom was back in town.” 

“She’s not here anymore, but I can call her if you’d like.” 

“No,” Jǐngtì said,” Just tell me what she was doing.” 

“She mostly just talked to your father. Asked where you were, Mao Mao didn’t know-,”

“After that?” 

“Bao Bao showed up. Mao Mao… was Mao Mao and nearly got himself killed trying to get revenge.” 

“Bao Bao’s the guy from the cave, right?” 

Badgerclops nodded,” that’s the one. Your mother left with him before Mao Mao could… Make things worse.” 

“Is that how he got fucked up?” 

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it.” 

There was a moment of silence before Badgerclops spoke again. “Hey, I think you dropped this.” 

Badgerclops held out the mechanical finger, but instead of taking it Jǐngtì raised an eyebrow. “What is that?” 

“It’s a mechanical finger, I think.” 

“Why would I have a mechanical finger?” 

“I found it under the desk. Thought you might have found it in the junkyard and left it when you fought Mao Mao.” 

“Then it's certainly not mine. I fought Mao Mao at the bakery.” 

“Wait, is that the reason her window was broken?” 

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” 

“I’m going to have you apologize to her and you’re going to help fix it, but more importantly, you’re saying you didn’t fight Mao Mao here?” 

“Yeah. I fought him at the bakery. That’s how he got the shard of glass in his ribs.” 

“What about the hole in his stomach?” 

“Hole in his… what? That was  _ definitely  _ not me. I left after Mao Mao got skewered with the glass. I don’t know how about- is he going to be okay?” 

Badgerclops put his hands up. “I might have oversold it. It took a bit of his intestines, not his stomach. Camille reassured me that he’ll be fine.”

“I guess that’s okay then,” Jǐngtì huffed 

“Though, I want to ask if you knew who else he fought.” 

“Fought?”

“Yeah, there are signs of a struggle at HQ. It's why it's so broken. Mao Mao got into a pretty serious scuffle after you.” 

“Well, I don’t know why you’d think I’d know any more about it than you!” 

Jǐngtì ears flattened back and his fur stood on end. He faced Badgerclops, his hand inching towards his knife.

“Jǐngtì...” 

“I didn’t do it!” 

“I know-” 

“I didn’t do it!” 

Badgerclops placed his hands on Jǐngtì’s shoulders. “It's fine. I’m not accusing you of anything. I just want to know what happened to your dad. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” 

Jǐngtì blinked tears out of his eyes with each shuddered breath.

“Why do you go back inside,” Badgerclops continued,” it's getting cold, and it's getting late.” 

“I’ll stay out here.” 

“I’m not going to leave you out alone. I’ll be right here.” 

Badgerclops stood next to Jǐngtì, placing his hand on his shoulder as they waited for sunrise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: Maybe We Can Look to the Future


	10. Maybe We Can Look To the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things finally wrap up as Badgerclops finishes fixing HQ. Of course, he faces more than his fair share of problems becuase nothing can ever be simple, can it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with a late chapter, but to make up for that it's longer than usual. Yay! Again, I'm not very good at predicting how long all of this will be. With this whole Corona thing, I've found enough time to actually get this out in between everything. I hope this chapter at least puts you guys under quarantine and everyone not under quarantine at ease. As always follow @Spookylovesboba whenever you can find her and enjoy the chapter.

Badgerclops blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the sun before he realized he was just tired. He watched the blue smudge, which he guessed was Adorabat walking up the steps. She waved at him so Badgerclops waved back, or she tripped and fell, he couldn’t tell. He started the aerocycle’s motor, flying back because he had it in reverse, and flying the right way when he fixed it. He wanted to go back home, get some sleep, check on Jǐngtì, but he figured he should probably pick up supplies while he’s in town.

The early morning air was cool, but it was slowly warming up. He checked on the blob since he was heading that way. It was still in the taped barrier. Looking at it he had to wonder if it had gotten bigger. He couldn’t be sure. He hadn’t slept since… before he went camping. He was nearing his third day without sleep and by god, it was starting to show. His mind was covered in a thick haze that made his head burn. His vision was cloudy, considering his eye was prosthetic, couldn’t have been good.

The supplies shop wasn’t too far from the fountain square. He was surprised to find Penny and Benny running it. (He could swear they did deliveries) who handed him a receipt written in crayon. He wasn't sure if that was legal; Mao Mao was the one who knew the laws, not him. Badgerclops stood off to the side watching the three-foot fools try to tie the stack to the back of the aerocycle. He made sure to give them some gummy worms as payment before taking off again. He was sure that was illegal, but who's going to arrest him?

Badgerclops went in low when he saw HQ. Too low, in fact. Badgerclops jumped off at the last second, watching the aerocycle carve a ditch across the front lawn. He stumbled towards HQ to poke his head inside. The noise hadn’t woken Jǐngtì. He was peacefully asleep. He almost envied the little bastard. He couldn’t envy anyone who called Mao Mao their dad. Much like his father he would be a great help with fixing everything. Badgerclops tapped his chin, considering waking him up before he relented with a sigh.  _ Let him sleep _ , he told himself. 

Badgerclops stepped back outside to examine the aerocycle. The supplies on the back weren’t damaged, but the aerocycle certainly wouldn’t be flying. A real crock of shit considering he had to pick up Adorabat in like… six hours? Would six hours of sleep be enough? Would he even have that much free time? He had to fix the house and even worse, he forgot to buy furniture! 

Badgerclops harrumphed as he sat down to order it all, using his arm instead of a computer as he should’ve from the start. He went for 2-hour delivery even though it was $40 extra, mostly because he wanted to see if they’d actually do it, before he took the supplies off the Aerocycle. The stack was heavy and tall, making it hard to walk and even harder to see. 

Getting it through the door was easy considering he didn’t have a door, or a doorframe, or the walls surrounding it. That didn't stop him from tripping over his own feet, landing with a loud and undignified scream. He could feel the weak house foundations begin to shake.

Badgerclops lied there, waiting for the shaking to stop or the floor to give in. 

By some miracle the house settled back down. The floor only gave a disturbing groan when he forced the supplies off. He peeked over at Jǐngtì who was still asleep.  _ Kid could probably sleep through an earthquake _ , Badgerclops thought to himself, stopping just short of mumbling it out loud. Knowing his luck that probably would wake him up. 

Badgerclops’ luck held out more than he thought when he sorted the supplies to find it all in one piece. He sorted the plywood, slicing it into boards with a laser so he could fix the floor. It was tedious and tiring, especially when he had to stop to nail down the boards every so often. When he finished he overlooked his work. It looked fine, until he realised that he cut the new boards too large. 

_ It was fine. It was fine. It was fine. Fuck, no it wasn’t! This was going to bother him all the time if he didn’t fix it _ .

Badgerclops pulled up every board he just placed to cut them again before placing them back down. He looked over his work again, even breaking out a ruler to make sure he got it right. 

Next he had to fix the door. He cut around the broken edges of the wood, using the leftover planks to seal the massive hole. He then set up the door frame and door. He probably should have done the wiring for the doorframe later because he shocked himself time and time again trying to set it up. 

_ That was enough for now _ , Badgerclops told himself as he sat down. Fatigue had given him a headache that drummed inside his skull. He wanted to just lie down on his new floors and fall into a coma, but he knew himself too well. 

If he stopped now he wouldn’t get this done in time. He pried himself out the chair, painfully leaning over to get the polish, varnish, and felt-block to buff the damage out of the wood. He dragged himself to a part of the wall, right next to the kitchen’s entrance, that had three large gashes running across it. He squirted the polish and began rubbing it down. The damage didn’t go away. Badgerclops rubbed again, this time putting a little bit of elbow grease. The damage still didn’t go away. Badgerclops rubbed with all his might. Until the felt-block was snatched out of his hands by Jǐngtì. 

_ Fuck!  _ He didn’t even know he was awake. Jǐngtì glared at him, waving around the felt-block. “You forgot to take off the plastic,” he said. 

Sure enough, the felt-block was still wrapped in the thin cellophane packaging.  _ Whoops. _ Badgerclops reached for it; Jǐngtì threw the package aside. “What are you doing,” he asked.

“Just trying to buff some chips in the wall.”

“Those look like scratches.”

_ You know, now that he actually paid attention they did look like claw marks.  _ Badgerclops took out the golden finger and held it to the scratches.

“You think this made the marks?” 

“No. That didn’t make the scratches. The finger doesn’t fit. The point enlarges to quickly and metal would leave much finer impressions in the wood.”

“Where’d you learn to spot tracks.” 

“From my mom. She’s a bounty hunter, isn’t she?”

“Fair point, but who made those marks then?” 

Jǐngtì unsheathed his claws and held it to the marks,” I don’t know. Mao Mao certainly didn’t make these. They don’t match cat claws.” 

“Wait, so does that mean Mao Mao got into a fight with a third person?”

“I suppose?” 

“Then who was that third person?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’ll get an idea after going the fuck to sleep.”

With that Jǐngtì hobbled off and went back to sleep. Badgerclops might as well follow his lead. He went to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. 

* * * 

Badgerclops woke up the sound of his alarm? No, it was the doorbell. At least he knew it worked. Jǐngtì was still asleep, or maybe he wasn’t. He liked faking it alot apparently. He probably was awake. Whoever was at the door spammed the doorbell like they were pretending they were Mao Mao if he hated doorbells. Badgerclops got up, stretched and went for the door. The door took a bit of effort to open.  _ Huh, going to need to fix that _ , he noted to himself. 

On the other side of the door was Penny and Benny.  _ Aw shit _ . He totally forgot about the 2-hour delivery, considering their furrowed brows, their clenched fist, and the hellish fursy in their eyes Badgerclops probably had them waiting quite some time. At least they waited. 

“We waited  _ four hours _ ,” the pink one screamed at him. 

“And I don’t regret it, now where’s the furniture I bought?” 

They unloaded the furniture off the truck. Badgerclops expected it to be in pieces like an IKEA puzzle, but it was all in one piece. Good, saved time. Badgerclops went to wake Jǐngtì up, but the bedspread was empty. He kept an eye out but didn’t look for him. Jǐngtì was bound to show up sooner or later. He was directing the duo as they set down the furniture when he felt a hand brush up against his back. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest. 

Jǐngtì gave Badgerclops little more than a glance as he toppled over. He was too busy sorting through a bunch of candy and knick-knacks in his hands. 

“You’re just like your dad. Too sneaky for your own good.” 

“Don’t compare me to him.” 

Badgerclops quickly changed the subject. “Where’d you disappear to?” 

“Just took those two’s wallets and went through the truck,” he said flatly,” look at these goobers. They didn’t have any cash, just... _ this _ .” 

He showed Badgerclops the random crap he stole. Sure enough, the gummy worms he gave them were mixed in. 

“You shouldn’t steal.” 

“I’m not going to stop.” 

“That doesn’t mean stealing is okay, even if Penny and Benny are... odd. I didn’t know they ran the supply store and the delivery service, but I’m not going to judge them for it.”

“They don’t run both shops,” Jǐngtì said. “The ones who run that shop are Lenny and Jenny, their twins or something.”

“What? They don’t have twins.

“Are you sure? How many times have you seen those two doing different jobs? It's all different people. Like nurse Joy. A bunch of different people who look alike.” 

Badgerclops felt the need to disagree yet he couldn’t find any counterargument. The valley having a large litter of twins wouldn’t even be that bizzare.

“Huh, Badgerclops slowly nodded,” I didn't know that.” 

Jǐngtì raised an eyebrow. “Did you know I also wrote gullible on the ceiling?”

“I’m not gonna fall for that.” 

“So you’re too smart for that, but not enough to realize that dozens identical twin duos doesn’t make any sense?” 

“Do you just make things up to mess with people?” 

“Yes. Was that not clear?” 

They continued the conversation until Penny and Benny walked up to them and held out their hands. Badgerclops didn’t know what they wanted, so he took a guess and gave them a high five. That wasn’t the answer. Their brows furrowed and he could see veins popping on the yellow one’s neck. Gross. 

“So, what do you want little guys-” 

Badgerclops was immediately taken aback when they screamed,” we want to get paid.”

“Alright, alright. Geez just take my gummy worms and go.” 

They did take the gummy worms, but they did not leave.

“This isn't enough,” the pink one said. 

He handed them some more gummy worms, but they still didn’t leave. “This still isn’t enough,” the yellow one said.

“Well, how much do you want?”

“Enough to cover the 2-hour delivery and then four hours waiting so six hours.”

“Doesn’t feel like six hours-” Badgerclops stopped, realizing that he forgot again. 

He turned back outside to the aerocycle. “Right, haven’t fixed it yet,” he groaned, looking for an alternative. 

Penny and Benny’s truck was looking rather fine. 

“Hey, Jǐngtì. Hold those two down for a bit,” he shouted over his shoulder,” I gotta pick up Adorabat.” 

Amazingly enough, the doors were unlocked. It's been a while since he drove something with wheels. He’d have to manage. First came the ignition, and he doesn’t have the keys. He was about to find some other way when Jǐngtì tossed him the keys. 

“Didn’t you say that stealing is wrong,” the kid snidely asked.

Badgerclops started the engine, “do as I say not as I do,” he called out as he headed into town.

* * *

Badgerclops managed to arrive early by his standards. Adorabat wasn’t the only one waiting on the school steps, at least. Badgerclops honked the horn to get her attention. She started looking for the noise when he kept honking the horn. Badgerclops had to lean out the window and wave at her to get her attention. 

“How was school,” he asked. 

“Skewl was fine.” 

He never understood why she pronounced ‘school’ like that.  _ Was it a regional Pure Heart Valley dialect? _

“Where’d you Penny and Benny’s truck,” she asked.

“I borrowed it,” he lied, driving off.

On the way, he passed by the blob again. This time he was sure it had gotten larger. More concerning, it had taken more sweetipies hostage. He’d have to deal with that sooner rather than later.

“Is Jǐngtì still home,” she asked abruptly.

“He likes disappearing, but he should still be there. Why do you ask?” 

“He kinda scares me.” 

Badgerclops would disagree if he didn’t understand why. Jǐngtì had kidnapped Adorabat. Kidnapping makes a horrible first impression. He would have thought that was obvious if he and Tanya hadn’t done it. He guessed that was one thing he had in common with his mother. He would ask if Mao Mao scared her, but he decided that was a question for Ol’ Blue or someone better at parenting. 

* * * 

Badgerclops drove back to HQ. Jǐngtì had tied up Penny and Benny were sitting on them to keep them from leaving, although it looks like the sweetipies had given up trying to resist. He let the sweetipies go at Badgerclops’ behest, cutting the rope only to have it turn into a leaf. They quickly got in their truck and left. Badgerclops wasn’t eager to stop them if it means he didn’t have to pay. Almost assuredly not legal, but Badgerclops wasn’t going to arrest himself, now was he?

He had to commend the kid's work ethic. He finished getting all the furniture in himself without being told. Or maybe he just wanted to sleep in an actual bed tonight. Badgerclops ordered pizza before finally getting the TV working. The pizza arrived, and the three of them stayed up late into the night. He put her and Jǐngtì to bed before putting the final touches on the repairs.

He was done before dawn, but having a working TV was reason enough to stay up till dawn.  _ Creeaak _ . Badgerclops turned his head to find Jǐngtì silently sneaking out.

“Where you going,” he asked.

“Probably back to the Sky Pirates.” 

“You can stay if you want.”

“Nah, you have to pick Mao Mao today, don’t you?”

_ That was today, wasn’t it?  _

“Well, you’re always welcome to come over.” 

“Yeah, well… uh, next time my dad isn’t here I wouldn’t mind spending the night again.” 

“I’ll be sure to do that. Oh! Before you go,” Badgerclops quickly got up and gave the kid a hug. It wouldn't have been so awkward if Jǐngtì didn’t go freakishly stiff. “Woah, you good, little dude?” 

“Yeah, just didn’t expect that.” 

They said quick goodbyes as Jǐngtì left. With a few hours to spare Badgerclops figured he might as well get some sleep.

* * *

He meant to pick Mao Mao up at 10 in the morning, instead he brought him back at noon. It would've been later if Adorabat didn’t beat against his stomach like a drum to wake him up. He carried Mao Mao inside because the fool refused to use his crutches. He looked over HQ with a weird look in his eyes and a flicker of the ear. 

“You good,” Badgerclops asked.

“Yeah, just put me down for a second.”

Badgerclops obliged, but he still had Mao Mao lean on him for support.

“Things... look different,” mumbled Mao Mao/ 

“ I had to buy some new furniture and stuff-” 

“Mao Mao!” Bagderclops was interrupted by Adorabat flying in from the kitchen. She slammed right into Mao Mao’s chest for a hug; wouldv’e knocked him off his feet if Badgerclops wasn’t there. 

“I’m glad you're back,” she said.

“It’s good to be back,” he said, accepting her embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's good that Mao Maos finally back, isn't it?  
Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: A Cat and his Blob


	11. A Cat and his Blob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao is back, but the Pure Heart Valley didn't stay too safe during his brief absence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back at the end of the century. The reason for no uploads on either the MMHOPH Headcanon blog (it's on Tumblr, go check it out) or on fanfics is because Persona 5 Roya came out and I finished that on Monday at 140 hours. Don't expect things to get to active too soon either, cause finals are next week. Regardless, let things get back to the usual. In keeping with Persona 5 Royal let's make today's song recommendation Beneath The Mask - Persona 5. Follow @Spookylovesboba on Twitter and Tumblr and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Mao Mao breathed in the fresh morning air. It was good to be outside again. Even if it was just to drop Adorabat off at school. He waved goodbye to her as she went inside, but he didn’t leave right away. He still felt terrible. It hurt to walk, and he couldn't lean too far on either side thanks to the hole. Camillie gave antibiotics and painkillers, alongside an extensive list of their side effects. The painkillers made his insides feel like cold porridge, and the antibiotics made his stomach feel weird. Nausea they caused together was unbelievable. 

Nausea made it hard to remember if the school always had three students. He wasn’t sure, but he put aside his suspicion. It was probably another side effect. It was probably amongst Camille’s list of warnings; he couldn't know for sure. It was way too early for any of this. It was too early for Mao Mao and certainly too early for Badgerclops. He was still asleep, and still drooling on his shoulder.

Mao Mao poked him until he woke up. “Huh, I was paying attention to the movie,” he yawned.

“It’s not movie night. We’re dropping off Adorabat.”

“Oh! Bye,” Badgerclops said waving.

“You’re at nothing, she’s already inside.” 

“Oh. Well, that’s good, let's get you back to HQ.”

“No.”

“What? You should stay in bed, off of your feet, doctor’s orders.”

“Yeah, but I want to go out to do something. Let’s get a pizza.”

“Doctor also said no solid foods.”

“Smoothies then.” 

Mao Mao revved the engine making Badgerclops tightly grab onto his waist. “You sure you don’t want me to fly,” Badgerclops asked.

“It’ll be fine.”

“A sick man with one arm shouldn’t be driving anything.”

“I said it’ll be fine.”

Mao Mao pulled back the accelerator, letting the Aerocycle fly off. Badgerclops may have had a point, but he wasn’t let anything stop him from enjoying his day. 

* * *

Mao Mao was still stubborn as all hell. Not even a trip to the hospital would change that. He and Mao Mao went from one end of town to the other, walking the streets looking for one place that served smoothies. He told Mao Mao more than once that the only food places were Muffin’s Bakery and the convenience store. Watching him Mao Mao hobble around would be funny if he hadn’t nearly died less than a weak ago. 

“Hey, Mao Mao!”

“Wha-”

Badgerclops had the small man tucked under like a football before he knew what was happening. 

“Badgerclops, I am asking politely, but  _ firmly  _ to put me down before someone -and I mean you- gets hurt.”

“Awww, Is da wittle baby who just got outta the hospital mad.”

Mao Mao didn’t appreciate the humor. He wiggled like a worm and gnawed on his right hand, which probably would’ve hurt if it wasn’t made of metal, so Badgerclops just kind of ignored it. He walked through the narrow alleys towards Muffin’s bakery at the town square. He thought Mao Mao would stop eventually, but if Mao Mao was anything it was stupid. And also stubborn.  _ Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!  _ It was like a toddler using a teething ring. What was kind of funny at first became annoying, and now was just kind of gross to watch.

“You have to stop that before you hurt your teeth, and you and I both know that I don’t know how to schedule a dentist appointment,” Badgerclops said. 

“I will when you put me…,” Mao Mao slowly fell silent as they entered the large open plaza of the town square.

“Hey, Badgerclops. What is that?” 

“That’s the blob monster.”

_ “THE WHAT _ !”

Badgerclops flinched. Mao Mao slipped from his grasp ready to split his head on the pavement, but a cat’s gonna do what a cat's gonna do. He righted himself in the air to land on his feet. A much worse choice. Mao Mao’s eyes went wide from the pain before he fell down on all fours. 

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry.”

Badgerclops went to pick him up, but he was waved off. “The blob. The blob. Tell me about the blob.”

“Cool it. Camille high-blood pressure would give you a stroke.”

Mao Mao took a second to gather himself, clenching his fist before letting it all go. “All. Alright. The blob. What is the blob?”

“You should do that more often. You’re a very tense person,” Badgerclops teased.

“The blob.”

“Right, uh, the blob is a blob. Its big, gooey, kidnaps villagers-”

Mao Mao inhaled sharply and he tapped his foot. 

“-it’s not all that bad. They’re unharmed, just a little confined. It hasn’t even taken anyone important.”

“Sheriffs? Is that you?”

Mao Mao and Badgerclops leaned forward, craning their necks and squinting their eyes. It was hard to see at first, Badgerclops had to open his cybernetic eye to actually see that King Snugglemagne was now a hostage. Mao Mao rubbed his temples why Badgerclops cursed fate for always making him look like a fool.

“Sheriff! It's utterly dreadful. Could you hurry and get me out? I’d certainly rather you didn’t forgo saving me like last time.”

“I’ve never done anything like that. I do my job, and I do it very well, thank you very much.” 

“You did nothing when I was trapped in a net by that ruffian that looked a lot like you.” 

For a second, Mao Mao raised a non-existent eyebrow, but his fur stiffened and he reached for his sword. 

Aw shit.

Badgerclops stepped in front of the cat. “Let’s slow down. He didn’t mean to insult your son.”

“Don’t worry. I’m just cutting him out,” he said,” if I take a little off the top, oh well.”

He raised his sword up. Badgerclops quickly grabbed the blade before he could bring it down. “No, I mean they blob fights back if you attack it.”

“How do you know?”

“I kicked the blob once and it fought back. It gave me a nasty bruise.”

Mao Mao looked Badgerclops up and down,” where’s the bruise?”

“It was at the beginning of the week. It healed.”

Mao Mao started Badgerclops in the eye with frigid intensity before he sheathed his sword. Thank fuck he believed it. 

“So, what do we do,” Mao Mao asked.

“Get lunch?”

Mao Mao nodded in agreement. “Sure. Let’s go.”

“Excuse me? Still stuck! Help!

He and Mao Mao tuned out the king. They turned around and began to walk away.

* * * 

“Jellybeans aren’t lunch.”

“Then do you want a milkshake?”

“You know I’m lactose-intolerant.”

“Then hush-up and eat ya’ beans.” 

Mao Mao grumbled, doing as he was told. He and Badgerclops sat on the bench just outside the gas station. Muffin’s Bakery was the first, but considering Muffin’s was trapped in the blob (and the broken storefront) it wasn’t open. The gas station was the second choice. It didn’t really offer food. Just the usual cheap snacks, and milkshakes for some reason. The blob had tagged along for what it was worth. Unfortunately, it had to carry most of the kingdom with it. 

“Are you going to save me,” the king asked. 

“We’ll get to it eventually,” Badgerclops held the drink in front of Mao Mao,” got you a milkshake.” 

“I told you I can’t drink milkshakes.”

“Is it like cobbler? A hero's code thing? I won't tell anyone if you do.”

“No! It's ‘cause I’m not a kitten. Adult cats are all lactose intolerant.”

“Can  Jǐngtì still drink milk or has it gone the way of the dodo? Might invite him here some time.” 

The last part was said quietly, an absent thought that wandered out, nonetheless, Mao Mao’s ears perked up.

“Why would you invite  Jǐngtì?” 

Badgerclops awkwardly cleared his throat before speaking. “He helped me fix up HQ a bit.”

Mao Mao didn’t say anything. He pressed his fingers together. Thumb to index, thumb to middle, thumb to ring, thumb to pinky in calming repetition. 

“Oh, and while we were cleaning we found this.”

Badgerclops pulled out a golden finger. It took Mao Mao a second to realize what it was. How did that happen? Did he do that? Oh shit, he probably did. He had to stop himself from snatching his father’s finger away. 

“You know what this is,” Badgerclops asked.

“Think so.” Why did he say that?

“Are you gonna tell me?”

Mao Mao bit his tongue before he could let the name slip out.

“You want it back," Badgerclops asked. 

“Yes, please.” Mao Mao wasted no time tucking the finger in his belt when it was handed back.

“So, do you remember what happened?” Badgerclops started. 

“What happened when?”

When I was away.”

“No.”

“You don’t? You don’t remember what happened, how you got those wounds, who visited you? None of that?”

“I was pretty wasted and these drugs aren't helping my head, so what were we talking about before this?” 

He could catch Badgerclops grimace at the rough change of subject, but Badgerclops was kind enough to oblige. “Something about  Jǐngtì and milkshakes? You think he could drink milk?” 

Mao Mao paused to think for a second,”...he might. He’s always had some… issues.”

“I don't mean to pry, but do you mind if I ask why?”

“No it's fine, but uh...what I mean is… well, you know how kittens can’t regulate their body temperature?”

“I did not know that, but continue.”

“Well,  that’s supposed to go away by like, age 4, but Jǐngtì still can’t do it. It's fine since it's summer, but I’ll probably give him a coat when it starts getting cold.”

“Seems like a double-edged sword. Can’t stay warm, but can still enjoy cheese.”

“Yeah, the doctor’s say it because he’s a hybrid. Certain genes just don’t mix. He also has an issue with his eyes-”

Mao Mao cut himself short. Why was he being so open about all of this? Was it also the medicine?

“You good,” Badgerclops.

“Yeah, I think I’m fine. Where was I?”

“Something about his eyes.”

“Right, Jǐngtì’s pupils are larger than normal, so he can see really well in the dark, but he squints during the day or in a decently-lit room.”

“That’s one reason to wear sunglasses indoors.”

Mao Mao chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“I checked on him while you were away. He’s holding up well. He even helped me fix HQ.”

Mao Mao twiddled his tail through his fingers,”...I’m sorry.”

“What? No, no, it's fine-” 

“No, I mean it. I shouldn’t have caused you so much trouble.” Mao Mao choked up. 

“I- I shouldn’t’ve-” 

Badgerclops placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. ”If you ever feel… down again, just know I’ll be there to help you get back on your feet. Don’t be afraid to ask.”

Mao Mao closed in for a hug. He sniffled but managed to wipe the tear from his eye. “Yeah, thanks…I’m feeling better already.” 

“Yes this all very touching,” Snugglemane interjected,” but I still don’t see you trying to help me.” 

“Oh be quiet,” Mao Mao said, flicking a pink jelly-bean at the king. The shot missed its mark by a decent margin, helplessly bouncing off the blob. 

“Geez, if I was the broad side of a barn that might’ve almost hit me,” the king retorted. 

Mao Mao harrumphed and waved the king off. He wasn’t in the mood for jackassery. Even if it was coming from the guy that paid him. He was tired of eating jelly beans, so he began throwing them at the trashcan. It wasn’t too different from flicking a paper football. Although, jelly beans were much harder to aim. Badgerclops nudged him, holding out as his hand as they both began to take aim. Everything was going fine if you ignored Snugglemagne. Eventually, Mao Mao got tired of the nagging and flicked a bean at him. 

“Stop that,” Snugglemagne whined.

Instead of stopping Mao and Badgerclops chuckled like Beavis and Butthead. At least they were chuckling until Mao Mao caught something out the corner of his eye. He shoved Badgerclops aside before throwing himself back as something smashed through the bench with comet-like fury.

Badgerclops coughed out,” what the hell was that,” as the dust cleared. 

When everything settled, Snugglemane was face down in the dirt. Everything fell silent. Badgerclops inhaled sharply; Mao Mao began to laugh. 

Badgerclops shot him a glare. Mao Mao quickly cleared his throat,” must be the medicine,” he mumbled.

Badgerclops was really proving himself because his eyes softened after a second. “Do you have any idea what happened?” 

“I threw food at it, so it threw ‘food’ at me?” 

“That… actually makes sense.”

“So, what do you want me to keep throwing jelly beans at them? It might get the rest of the kingdom?” 

Badgerclops placed two fingers to Snugglemagne’s pulse before giving him a thumbs up. Mao Mao couldn’t lie to himself. It was kind of cathartic to watch the blob chuck Sweetipies a 100 MPH. With every toss the blog got smaller and smaller. When the last one was free the blob sorta imploded. It bubbled up before shrinking down with a disturbing noise and spreading goo everywhere. 

“What the hell just happened?”

“It got too small thus it lost structural stability and collapsed.”

“I don’t know what any of that means, but I do know that everything worked out in the end.”

“Someone’s going to have to clean all this goo.”

“And it won’t be us,” Mao Mao said,” c’mon we have to pick up Adorabat from school.

* * *

They were only slightly late when picking up Adorabat from school. The rest of the children -or maybe they weren’t actually children Mao Mao honestly couldn’t tell- poured out from the school. She hopped down the steps before flying over.

“Mao Mao! Mao Mao!”Adorabat said as she zipped around them. 

Badgerclops metal arm extended out and held the child in place. “Woah, there little buddy. What’s gotten you up?” 

“The teacher says we’re going to be doing a play!”

“Really? That sounds nice.”

“The teacher says it’ll be next week. You’ll come, right?”

“Sure. Sounds fun.”

Adorabat slipped out of Badgerclops’ grip, flying an inch from Mao Mao’s face. “You promise?”

“I promise,” Mao Mao chuckled, patting her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The play's the thing, right?  
Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: Small  
(Dun. Dun. Dun.)


	12. Small

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While preparing for Adorabat's play someone stops by HQ.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are here again my undoubted friends. You know how these things go, the personal updates are that I finished SMT IV and started SMT IV: Apocalypse which is good 'cause Atlas RPGs are always fun. I've noticed we've gone a bit of time without an action set piece, so I threw one in here for good measure. Also for those that left comments on my NSFW fanfic, it turns out I turned on manually approve comments, so... whoops. As always follow @spookylovesboba on Tumblr and enjoy the chapter.

Mao Mao dug through the closet, looking for the white suit that he was certain he put somewhere. It shouldn’t have been that hard to find. It was pure white, dammit! He tossed capes and sashes to the ground, digging through the endless pile of junk. He tossed Badgerclops’ tools out the way, pushed aside some of Adorabat’s toys, and wondered where the bathrobe that belonged to none of them even came from.

“Badgerclops! Are you sure my suit was in here,” he yelled to the other room. 

“Yeah, I’m sure I saw it in there.” 

“Well, it's not here.” 

“I don’t know why you’re stressin’ about it. The plays’ not ‘till tonight I’m sure you’ll find it.” 

“I’m not stressing about it. I want to iron it first.” 

“I don’t know how long you think it takes to iron things, but it definitely doesn’t take 7 hours.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“I’m pretty sure I do.” 

_ Ding-Dong! _

“Mao Mao, someone's at the door.”

“And you’re in the living room. Answer it.” 

Mao screamed his frustrations into the bathrobe before throwing it aside. He didn’t understand how Badgerclops could be so lax about this. She’d already been dropped off, and the silence her absence left made Mao Mao feel anxious. Adorabat’s play was in seven hours, and a lot could go wrong in seven hours. The house could burn down, the Sky Pirates could attack or-

“Hey, Mao Mao you’re gonna wanna come here.”

“I’m busy. Who is it?”

“I don’t know. He’s pretty tall, wearing gold… says he’s your dad.” 

-his dad could make a surprise visit again. What could he want? He wanted the finger back, obviously, but what else? His next thought was that he wanted to apologize. Mao Mao quickly dismissed that thought, but he slowly brought it back around. Everything he thought he knew about his father had been turned around. Maybe he actually did want to apologize. Mao Mao rose to his feet, huffed, and slammed the closet shut. If papa wanted to apologize then the only question to ask was how would he fuck it up this time? 

It was then that a thought struck Mao Mao like a bolt from the blue.  _ Why should I forgive him even if he doesn’t fuck it up? _ His first instinct was to come up with an argument against it but found nothing of any worth, yet he still pushed the idea aside. 

He stepped in the living room, finding his papa standing just outside the door frame, lest he breaks it again. The first thing Mao Mao noticed was his armor. Normally kept pristine and shining had scratches and dents marring its facade. It wasn’t even waxed. Had hadn’t returned home, had he? 

Mao Mao fought back the urge to ask what he was doing here. Mao Mao pushed past Badgerclops, stepping onto his porch, and closing the door behind him.

“Son,” Shin Mao said.

Mao Mao ignored the question. He reached into his sash flicking the broken finger towards his father. “This is what you came for, right?” 

“Part of it, yes.”

“Of course it was,” Mao Mao spat.

“That’s not-,” papa took a deep breath to get control of his voice,” that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean? ‘Cause everything you say and does tell me that you don’t!” 

“I came here to apologize!” 

“Oh my god! We literally had this exact conversation a week ago. I bring up all your problems and you deny and deny and deny!” 

“Well, I’m trying to own up to it now!”

“And it still doesn’t mean shit!” 

The door was thrown open. “And that is enough of you two,” Badgerclops yelled. 

Neither of them heard Badgerclops. They kept arguing. 

“I get it,” papa screamed,” I get that I’ve made mistakes! What do you want me to do to make it up to you.” 

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” he yelled back. 

Their voices rising higher and higher, so high that it wasn’t even words anymore. Just pointless screaming. Again, a thought wiggled its way into his head.  _ Why should I forgive him?  _ It stood above papa’s voice and even his own. It was just an infuriating mess of noise inside and out. At first, he gave in to his rage and grasped for the hilt of Geraldine before thinking better of it. He ignored the shouting, got onto the aerocycle, and left.

* * *

Despite taking his leave Mao Mao felt no calmer. His knuckles ached, 

He could hardly drive straight, so he landed at a small clearing in the forest. Everything irritated him. The bird’s singing, the cool breeze, the fragrance of the pine forest. He sat on a large boulder to gather himself. His father would leave sooner or later. Then he would go back home and- Dammit! Adorabat still had her play and he still hadn’t ironed his clothes or even find them. Mao Mao sighed. Whatever. Badgerclops was right, there was still time to waste. 

The maddening chain of thoughts kept going. His mind turned from one problem to another, from one mistake to another. The terrible thoughts shared no connecting theme. Sometimes it was how he embarrassed himself as an adult, other times it was the mistakes he made as a child. It made his throat feel rather dry rather quickly. Maybe it was the devil’s luck that he had nothing to drink. However, he did have Geraldine.

Mao Mao took his sword and swung at the nearest tree. The tree crashed down to the floor with a single slice. Mao Mao examined the stump with displeasure. Despite only taking one slash the cut wasn’t very clean. The wood was jagged and frayed at the edges. Not sure what he expected considering he let proper maintenance fall to the wayside. When was the last time he took his care of his sword? It was nearly two months; around the time  Jǐngtì first showed up if he remembered right. That was when his life really turned into an entire pile of shit, wasn’t it? 

Mao Mao took to running his sword along the edge of the boulder he once sat on. To his surprise, the rock worked rather well as a sharpening stone. It had a nice grain that matched his sword well. Maybe he should remember this spot, or better yet take a piece of the rock for himself. 

Mao Mao held his sword backhanded and swung it through the tip of the boulder, taking a nice chunk of it. That was when the ground began to shake. Mao Mao struggled to gain footing as the dirt cracked and exploded out as the boulder grew larger and larger and larger, towering over him in a wispy mass of shadow. 

That was no boulder! It was a monster. 

The monster was utterly massive, even by monster standards. Its loose shape only contained in the bony protrusions that he thought were rocks. Mao Mao barely shook off his shock in time to dodge a swipe from its wings. He stared at the terrible gash in the ground where he once stood. How many hits could he take before dying? If he hadn’t just gotten out of the hospital he might actually be able to tank a hit. Like this, a glancing hit might kill him. 

A beast with strength like that could only be dodged. And dodge he did. He ducked under swipes and leaped over attacks, holding a half-sharp Geraldine in his only hand. He stepped out the way of another attack and retaliated with a quick slash. It chipped the stone-like edges of its wings. 

There was no point in striking its exterior. He’d have to go for the shadowy flesh. He rolled over one of the slashes, using the momentum to toss himself towards the monster. He left a nasty gash across the beast, but something was wrong. It felt like he was cutting through a thick cloud of smoke. He landed and immediately jumped away from another attack. He clung to a tree watching the gash get filled in by more shadowy mass. Did he do any real damage? How many more hits would it take? 

Mao Mao leaped back into action. He slashed and slashed, taking entire chunks of the monster, but it was always right as rain in seconds. He, on the other hand, couldn’t keep this up forever. He was a cat, not a monkey, and he couldn’t keep running around like one forever. His entire body felt weak and it was hard to find balance. The sheer pressure of knowing that a single hit would bring him just shy of death was taxing.

Mao Mao remembered a piece of advice he hated.  _ He who runs away lives to run another day.  _ He was ready to leave when he heard a thunderous crash that seemed to shake the world. He hesitated to look over his shoulder, regretting that hesitation immediately. He should’ve just said fuck it and run away. 

Amongst the kicked up dirt and dust, amongst the black shadows fading in the wind, was the glorious glint of gold. Papa had found him. Badgerclops was there, too. He watched them argue from the trees. He considered still listening to the hated advice but ignored better judgment, like always. 

He sprang from the tree with a stumbling stop, falling to his knees to catch his breath.

Papa, to his credit, rushed to help him to his feet, but Mao Mao forcefully pushed him off. “I don’t need your help,” he spat at his father. 

“What were you doing,” Papa asked. “You’re in no shape to be fighting monsters.” 

“And you’re in no shape to be acting like a parent.” 

“I think we should get him to a hospital,” Papa Badgerclops.

“Hey, fuck you. Don’t talk like I’m not here.”

“Calm down, son.”

“No. I won’t calm down! Every time you’re around you always make me feel…  _ small _ . You ignored my existence and when you don’t you ignore my feelings and blow them off like they don’t matter. I don’t love you. I don’t care what happens to you, and I don’t want to see you,  _ Shin _ , ever again.” 

“You need to take a minute. You’re obviously delirious. You probably have a concussion.”

“Who cares! Who cares what you think! I’m done caring about what you think,” Mao Mao poured his entire heart into those words, screaming his throat hoarse and raw. “I think you’re a self-serving asshole too obsessed with your ego to realize your mistakes! I think you're so selfish that you honestly think you can suddenly realize your mistake and suddenly expect forgiveness!” 

“I think-,” Mao Mao licked his numb lips, stumbling forward as his vision grew blurry, “ -I’m having a stroke.” 

Everything went dark as the ground came rushing towards him. 

* * *

Mao Mao woke up in a regrettably familiar setting. It was cold, reeked of sterile antiseptic, and home to the closest thing the valley had to a doctor. 

“Hey, why am I at Camille’s Tower this time,” he said to no one. 

Badgerclops rushed to his side. “You had a stroke, dude.” 

“Right… wasn’t that a side-effect of Camille’s medication.” 

“If you didn’t watch your blood pressure.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds familiar… hey, it might be the stroke messin’ with my memory, but wasn’t I doin’ somethin’ before I got here.” 

“You were getting ready to attend Adorabat’s play.” 

Mao Mao nodded along. “Was that before- no, that’s not important.  _ He’s _ not important.” 

Mao Mao stumbled over his words trying to push off the fatigue. “What I mean to ask is if you can tell me the time.” 

Badgerclops placed a hand on his chest to keep him from getting up. “Oh no. I know that wide-eyed look. It means you either got the zoomies or about to do something stupid. Same difference really.” 

“I’m fine.”

“You literally had a stroke.” 

“That doesn’t mean I’m not find.” 

“Actually, it does mean you aren’t  _ fine,”  _ Camille corrected from the back. 

“I don’t remember asking for the peanut-gallerie's opinion.” 

“But the peanut gallery has a point. You can stay here and get better, while I can go attend Adorabat’s play.” 

Mao Mao searched the room. There was a window on the far side, but he probably wouldn’t be able to reach it, and he certainly didn’t have an idea what to do once he jumped through it. He sighed, realizing how little options he had left. He gestured for Badgerclops to lean in as he whispered into his ear. 

“I know I don’t talk about my childhood for obvious reasons, but did you know that I actually was in a school play. I tried out for the leading role, but ended up playing a bush and -don’t laugh- and I actually handed an invitation to my father to make sure he knew it was happening. You can guess what happened on opening night. 

“He wasn’t there,” Badgerclops said.

“Don’t say it out loud. Point is: Going to this play is a very important thing to me. I don’t want to be like Papa… Shin, I mean.” 

Badgerclops stood up. He drummed his fingers against the patient’s bed while he thought. “We’ll go to the play.” 

Mao Mao swung out of bed to have Badgerclops put his hand on his shoulder. “But, you’re coming back here when we’re done, alright?” 

Mao Mao nodded along. He would’ve nodded to anything you said at this point. He was just happy to go.

* * *

Were theatres required to markup ticket prices on showing days? Mao Mao and Badgerclops took their seats as the curtain was drawn. Mao Mao kept his eyes on the stage the entire time, but couldn't remember anything about it. He remembered yawning, leaning against Badgerclops, the ruby pure heart was mentioned somewhere. It was a huddled mess, a confusing blur of time that got lost in his endeavor to just stay awake. Suddenly, everyone started clapping and Mao Mao tried clapping too, alas he forgot he only has one. Adorabat found them soon after the play ended. 

“Did you see me,” she asked.

“Yeah, I saw you,” he answered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: Meeting the Father


	13. Meeting the Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao's finally free of his father, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have lingering effects on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back after a brief interlude, but here is the next chapter. The biggest deliberation writing this one was the ending. I was wondering if I should make it a new chapter, instead, I decided to include it in this one. Enjoy. The song of the day is RUn the Jewels #4. RTJ is a rap duo that released the new album for free on their website. Give it a download. Not that it has anything to do with the chapter I just love it. As always credits to @Spookylovesboba and enjoy the chapter.

Mao Mao sat on the couch. He had a book in his hands, but his eyes glazed over the words. Occasionally, he stole glances at the door, realized his mistake, and went back to the book he wasn’t reading. He considered looking up from the book, maybe time would go faster if he watched cartoons with Adorabat. He quickly realized that watching  _ What’s New Lucky Ducky  _ would only make him more impatient. Maybe he should try seeing what Badgerclops was up to? Granted, if it was anything technical, which it always was, he wouldn’t be able to help. 

_ Ding-Dong!  _

Mao Mao looked to the monster alarm before remembering that Badgerclops installed a doorbell. He leaped to his feet and swung open the door, swiftly swiping the package from Mail-Mole’s hands. He set it down on the table and unsheathed a single claw. 

“Hey, Mao Mao.” 

He swung around to find Adorbat standing behind him. 

“What’s in the package,” she asked, flying up to his shoulder.

“Oh. Its-,” Mao Mao hesitated, he was about to say nothing off of pure reflex, but he looked down at the package. He wasn’t at home anymore, he wasn’t bound by family either. There was no reason to hide it. 

“It’s a… how to say this… a Rubber Ducky toy.” 

“A toy! I wanna see! I wanna see!” 

Mao Mao quickly snatched the contents from the box, holding it high in the air out of Adorabat’s reach. 

“This isn’t just a toy. It was expensive. Be careful with it, okay?” 

“Fine,” she groaned. 

Inside the package was another package. A box that was one of those hard, plastic clamshell things with a small egg-shaped thing sealed inside. He brought it down to Adorabat’s eye level as she began to read it over. 

“Virtual Pet? Hey, I have one of these.” 

“No, no, no. You may have one of the gatchis, maybe a rerelease, but this is different. Check this out,” Mao Mao pointed to a small worn sticker on the back. “See 1988. A sealed, first-generation, blue egg Ducky-Gatchi.” 

“Wow. 1988… that’s almost as old as you,” she said.

“Yeah- wait, how old do you think I am?”

His question never got answered as their attention was pulled away by Badgerclops. “Hey, Mao, someone used one of your pointy things as a screwdriver and broke it,” he called out as he came up the stairs. 

_ “You did what!”  _

Mao Mao inhaled sharply. He’d learned his lesson after yesterday’s stroke, besides he didn’t have health insurance. 

“Watcha’ got there?” Badgerclops leaned in for a closer look.”You buy Adorabat a new toy?” 

“No, I didn’t buy it for Adorabat,” Mao Mao said in a small voice,” I bought it for myself.” 

“Aren’t you a little too old to be playing with toys?” 

“What? Are you crazy? I’m not playing with this! I spent $1000 on this!” 

Oops. 

Badgerclops slowly turned to Mao Mao. “Does this have anything to do with your Lucky Ducky obsession?”

“What? I don’t have a- haha, is it getting hot in here? I’m going to step out to get some air.” 

Mao Mao was almost out the door when Badgerclops’ robotic arm grabbed him by the cape and pulled him back to the table. “Why did you spend $1000 on a Ducky-Gatchi?”

“It’s not just a Ducky-Gatchi. It's from the first run of the product. The Ducky-Gatchis were released in eight colors with eight shapes. There’s supposed to be roughly a 6435 chance of any specific combination, but a manufacturer’s error made blue eggs even rarer than that. This blue egg gatchi is still sealed in the plastic, and it's been taken care of really well. The clamshell packaging hasn’t even started to yellow.” 

Badgerclops frowned and crossed his arms. He held it for a few seconds before relenting with a heavy sigh. “Fine,” he groaned,” just don’t spend so much money on this stuff.”

“Hot dog! I knew you’d come around,” Mao Mao slapped Badgerclops on the back before going back to the Ducky-Gatchi,” still have to find a place to display this, though.” 

“Hey Adorabat. Don't you--,” Mao Mao looked around to find Adorabat nowhere in sight. 

“Where’d she go?” 

“I don’t know She was here a moment ago,” Badgerclops.

“Hey, Mao Mao,” her voice called from the other room,” I told you I had one.” 

* * * 

Badgerclops watched Mao Mao head off into the bedroom. He picked up the Ducky-Gatchi he left on the table. This thing was definitely not worth $1000. He would have been madder if Mao Mao hadn’t looked so happy. The smile was different from the normal ones; it didn’t have any boastful pride, reckless ambition, or ego-saving denial. Badgerclops had traveled with Mao Mao for years yet this is the first time he’s seen a smile of indulgent joy. It was a good look on him and Badgerclops knew he ought to do what he can to make it more common. Although, Mao Mao could stand to learn some moderation. 

He held the Duck-Gatchi up and did his best to see why he’d spend $1000 on it. Value is a subjective thing, so what value did this have to Mao Mao? It likely had something to do with his childhood (every odd thing about him did) so how did this relate back? Badgerclops first thought was Mao Mao’s father. He wasn’t like how Mao Mao described him. Badgerclops mind began to wander back to the night when Mao Mao had a stroke. And the night he met the root of Mao Mao’s problems.

* * *

Again, Badgerclops was spending the night in Camille’s tower. Again, he sat off to the side to watch Honey and Camille work. Again, he found himself powerless. The only thing different this time was that he did his best to ignore the infuriating metallic  _ tap! tap! tap!  _ from Mao Mao’s dad who crossed his arms and wouldn't stop tapping his finger. Badgerclops stole a glance at him. 

He could sort of see the resemblance between Mao Mao and his father. Shin had a more angled face and grayer fur, not to mention those golden eyes. First time he’s heard of a cat having eyes like that. There was little resemblance between him and his grandson. Granted, there wasn’t that much resemblance between  Jǐngtì and his own father. The black and brown patterned fur, tufted arms, white stomach, and blue eyes were certainly from Jǐngtì’s mother. He only shared the round face and pointy ears with his father’s side.  Shin was impressively tall.  Neither Jǐngtì nor Mao Mao had that. Shin’s made Mao Mao look downright pathetic compared to him. Then again he would look pathetic compared to anyone when he was lying on a table. 

_ Tap! Tap! Tap! _

It’s a good thing that Adorabat wasn’t here, although he wasn’t sure if they’d make the play. Should he take her home after the play, or stop by with her in tow. Should he leave Mao Mao to attend the play alone and leave Mao Mao here, or should he wait here? It’d hurt to not have either of them show up for the play, but she would understand, right? Maybe he could

_ Tap! Tap! Tap!  _

Maybe he could talk to the teacher and pull Adorabat out of the play. This is an emergency. 

_ Tap! Tap! Tap!  _

Could he not be so fucking annoying? Badgerclops sighed, trying to resume the line of thought, but found it fleeting. He was racking his brain until he was just trying to block Shin out, yet he kept  _ tap! tap! tapping!  _ away. 

Eventually, it was too much. Badgerclops turned to Shin,” could you possibly be quiet for one second,” he snapped.

Shin seemed almost confused for a second, then he seemed indignant. “Excuse me for being worried about my son,” he shot back.

“For the first time,” Badgerclops mumbled. 

“What was that, boy? I can’t hear you from down there.” 

“I said that its a funny time to suddenly start caring about him!”

Shin stumbled back like he’d been hit in the chest. “That’s… that’s preposterous. Where would you even get that idea?” His words were shaky, lacking that artificial confident inflection that his son copied.

“I don’t know, maybe I’ve actually paid attention to anything he says for more than five minutes?” 

"You're talking like you my son better than I do."

Before they could get any louder, they were interrupted by a loud “ahem” that turned their heads. Honey was pointing at the door with that placid look on her face; The mute’s message was heard loud in clear. Shin held the door open for Badgerclops as they took it into the hall outside. They didn’t start arguing again. The rising tension gave way to a sickening sense of shame. They both retreated to their own corners, to their own minds. 

“What do you know about us,” Shin mumbled under his breath.

“Enough,” Badgerclops answered back.

Shin looked up, confused before he realized he was thinking out loud. He didn’t say anything back, instead, he dismissed Badgerclops with a grumble. 

“Why did you do that?” 

“Do what?” 

“You saw him back there? Why’d you attack your son?” 

“What are you talking about? I never attacked him. He attacked me!” 

“How do you explain the broken bones, the bleeding, the bruising, the three-inch hole in his side?”

Shin didn’t snap back. His face went pale and it looked like he was about to vomit. “I.. have done no such thing.” 

“Then who did? You were the only person at the house after that.” 

“I don’t know. That’s not what happened?”

“Then what did happen?” 

Shin reared up like he was going to say something back before his shoulders slumped as his gaze went to the floor. “I.. my wife said that I should visit, so I did. When I did show up Mao Mao was bleeding all over the place. I didn’t know what happened. He.. had some glass in his side. I got it out and then… I don’t know.” 

“What happened?” 

“We… got into an argument. A bad one. He chased me around the house, told me I was a grandfather, and then told me he didn’t want to see me again.”

“Is that it?” 

“Yes! That’s what happened! I learned that my own son hates me more than anything in the world. There! Are you happy?” 

Badgerclops examine Shin. His flicked back ears, averted gaze, thee closed hands, and receding posture. It didn’t seem like he was lying. Which begs the question, what happened next? The timeline he had down states that he met  Jǐngtì , which is where the glass came from. After that, he met Shin, who removed the glass, so how did he get the 3-inch hole in his side? Who else could have possibly visited? 

“I think I should be going.” 

“I don't think I’m the first thing my son wants to see when he wakes up,” Shin justified. It was aimed at Badgerclops but he could tell Shin was talking to himself. 

Badgerclops was felt the urge to stop him. Not because he thought Shin was wrong, but because Shin was the only lead he had. He looked to Shin’s hands. They found the missing finger, so Shin was certainly there, but those claw marks didn’t fit those. They didn’t fit Mao Mao or  Jǐngtì’s, so those claw marks belonged to someone else? 

He had to rule out Shin, so Badgerclops let him go, watching him trudge down the hall. 

Ironic, he thought becoming working in the Pure Heart valley would be tedious work, but here he is doing it of his own violation. Maybe Mao Mao would remember something when he woke up. He had to find out who. Who did this?

Badgerclops set the question aside, returning to the present. He’s dwelled on that question for hours already, and he’d dwell on it some more but right now he set the box back on the table. He titled his head to the other room to get a better look. Mao Mao and Adorabat have been in there a while. Long enough for him to dwell at least.

* * *

“Mao Mao,” he heard Badgerclops call out.

“Yeah,” he answered back, not taking his eyes off the screen. 

He had a well-worn ducky-gatchi in his hands. The plastic had begun to chip, there was a scratch on the screen, and the sound chip or speakers must’ve broken cause it made no sound. Adorabat quietly watched Mao Mao over his shoulder. Mao Mao could hear Badgerclops’ heavy footsteps as he approached. 

“What’re you doing,” he asked. 

Mao Mao shook the ducky-gatchi in his hands. “She actually had one. Though it's out of package and heavily used so it’d be $300 at most.” 

“I’d hate to interrupt you having fun, but we gotta make lunch.” 

Mao Mao was going to disagree. It should be noon maybe a little after, but the pit in his stomach said otherwise. He might've played this longer than he thought. He passed it to Adorabat to follow Badgerclops to the Kitchen. 

“What are we making,” he asked.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you something.” 

Mao Mao paused. “What’s up,” he asked.

“Relax,” Badgerclops said,” you’re not in trouble or anything. I just want to make sure everything’s okay.” 

“Why would anything not be okay,” he deflected. 

"I just want to know why you bought the ducky-gatchi." 

"Oh, that was just... something I've always wanted, but never actually got." 

"Does it have to with your dad?"

"Yeah," he sighed," papa -er, Shin- never really approved of my... Lucky Ducky thing, so now I'm not involved with him anymore I thought-" 

Badgerclops placed a hand on his shoulder," don't worry I'm not mad at you. Just try to be more careful with money."

_ Ring! Ring! Ring!  _ The monster alarm blared on the wall.

“Yeah, thanks” Mao Mao,” Adorabat c’mon we got work to do.” 

* * * 

Mao Mao rode into the Valley Plaza only to be stricken with a bit of disappointment when he saw what it was. “You know you shoulda installed a second alarm during renovations.” 

“Do we really need one though?” 

“Well, one of us could be halfway done making lunch instead of dealing with this mess.” 

Mao Mao pointed his thumb at the huddled, shouting mass of limbs that were the Sky Pirates' regular arguments. It got to the point they were actually kicking up a cloud of dust like this was a cartoon. Although… someone was missing. 

He patted Badgerclops’ shoulder. “Hey, have you seen-” 

“2nd store window. Three houses left.” 

Mao Mao followed the instructions to find his son, lounging on windowsill, looking down on everything dispassionately. Almost everything. When he caught his eye he turned away. To think today started so well. 

“That’s enough!” 

Mao Mao turned to Orangusnake right in time to keep himself from being cleaved in two. He caught the strike with Geraldine locking blades for a second as the fight began, but something was different this time. Orangusnake’s blows were quicker, heavier. Each hit shook his sword like a bell. What was wrong? What was different? 

Mao Mao blocked a strike that sent him crashing through police barriers. When did he set these up? He didn’t have time to think about it. Orangusnake was silhouetted in the sun with a war-ax brandished. Mao Mao stepped back to get out the way but stumbled. His foot was caught in something. A hole? What was a- oh no.

_ Clang!  _

Mao Mao had blocked the strike perfectly yet it sent tremors down his body and forced a web of cracks to snake across the ground. The police barriers were there for a reason. A reason he needed to address before someone got caught in it. The ground shook and shuddered as it began to give way, plunging Mao Mao and Orangusnake into the dark depths of the sinkhole. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: Down Below


	14. Down Below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mao Mao finds himself beneath the valley. He and Orangusnake must find a way out, but is it possible that Orangusnake has the answers Mao Mao's looking for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this chapter was actually finished and ready to post Wednesday, but I forgot to post it, so now it's coming to you Friday. I was also busy playing SUPERHOT and it's sequel MIND CONTROL DELETE. It's a great game and I don't even like FPS that much. Still haven't finished Devil Survivor, but I'm getting at Belial's fight so I'm making progress. As always thanks Spookylovesboba and enjoy the chapter.  
This chapter's song rec: The Mystic by Adam Jensen (A strange creator with a strange sound, but I like it I guess)

Was he dead? There was darkness all around him. It was terribly cold. He was wet, too. Had he finally crossed the River Sanzu? Or maybe he was still crossing it? Strange, he thought he’d be hung up about dying, but Mao Mao couldn’t actually say he was. There were a few things he still wanted to do. Make up with his son. Make up with Tanya. Enjoy being free from the Mao-clan. Oh well, there’s nothing a dead-man could do about that.

Fortunately, he wasn’t dead. It took some time, but his eyes adjusted to the darkness revealing a rocky ceiling, rocky walls, rocky floors, and a rocky everything else. He was underground, but this certainly wasn’t a grave. He must have fallen down the sinkhole, he rationalized to himself, although the stalagmites hanging from the ceiling, the shallow river running underneath him, and the vast empty darkness made him think this was more than a sinkhole. 

“Who woulda thunk that there’s an entire cave system underneath the town,” he told no one in particular, which was why he was so surprised when he got an answer. 

It wasn’t words, instead, it was a nasal grunt of pain. Mao Mao sifted through the rocks to find the source. He suspected a sweetipie was the source of the noise, but when he saw Orangusnake’s head poking through the rubble he grabbed him by the throat and yanked. 

His heart skipped a beat when he pulled the head, the neck, and the rest of the body. Mao Mao staggered back and began to wretch. What just happened? What did he do? He just killed a man! Normally, that wouldn’t bother him, but he just yanked out a man’s head like this was some sort of video-game. Mao Mao took a step back to gather himself. He breathed in and breathed out. The panic drained out of him only for more to settle back in. 

“What are you doing,” Orangusnake’s head asked.

“Nothing I’m just-” Mao Mao did a double-take. Orangusnake was fine, or more aptly put, the snake was fine. 

“You! You! How- why- what are you!” he screamed at the snake, snatching by the throat again. 

Instead of answering back, he let out strangled gasps. Mao Mao groaned and dropped the snake to the ground. He tried to slither away, but Mao Mao stepped onto the end of his tail. 

“Alright, alright,” the snake said,” my name is Coby.”

“I thought it was Orangusnake.” 

“No,  _ our  _ name is Orangusnake.” 

“What do you mean by  _ our name _ ?” 

“Me and Tanner.” 

“Who the fuck is Tanner?” 

“The orangutan!” 

“What Orangutan?”

“You know the arms, the legs, the face on my stomach.” 

“Wait… the face isn’t some weird decoration?”

“No!” 

“That’s a person?” 

“Yes!” 

“... is this some weird sex thing?” 

Mao Mao never got his answer. The snake wiggled from his grasp and began to slither away. Mao Mao snatched at the ground only to catch pieces of gravel. He turned to the snake who had wrapped himself on a stalagmite out of his reach.

“Get down here,” he ordered.

“No,” Orangusnake spat back.

“I’m not going to chase you around this cave all damn day.” 

“Then I'll stay up here.” 

Mao Mao put his face in his hand and sighed,” look. Orangusnake, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“So, where is the other one? Tanner?” 

The snake’s head perked up. 

“See my point? Now get off your ass. We certainly won’t find an exit like that.” 

“What about finding Tanner?” 

Mao Mao looked to the pile of rocks and debris that now plugged the hle they fell through. He’s either dead underneath all of that, or,” he added before the snake could object,” he’s on the other side of the mess, which hopefully connects back over here.” 

The snake dashed from the stalagmite, wrapping himself around Mao Mao’s torso and tugged to drag him forward. “Then what are you waiting for? Let’s go!” 

Mao rolled his eyes and sighed, taking solace in the fact that half-of-Orangusnake, _ Coby _ he called himself, was finally moving. 

* * * 

Mao Mao explored the winding caverns. For once, having a glowstick came in handy. He held up Geraldine to get the only light they had. More than once they came to a dead-end and had to double back. Coby complained the entire time like he was the one actually doing all the walking. He whined and whined with that annoying nasally voice of his. The only saving grace was that it all became an Indistinguishable mess to his ears. Thankfully, if Shin taught him anything its how to fake paying attention.

“Do you understand what I’m saying,” Coby asked.

“Yeah, sure.” 

“So, what should I do,” Coby asked.

“I can see that.” 

“Are you even listening?” 

“Not now,” Mao Mao said too late to catch himself. 

“Of course, you weren’t listening,” the snake said,” you don’t even care!” 

“At least you know that.” 

“This is why your son doesn’t like you.”

Coby immediately recoiled back, regretting his words. For good reason. Mao Mao’s first instinct was to choke the life out of him. What did this snake know about Jǐngtì? Then came the sobering thought that the snake probably did know a lot. More than Mao Mao did, at least. Everything he knew about Jǐngtì was 5 years out of date. He was no longer the same toddler he carried on his shoulders. He was different from how he remembered. Maybe he never remembered correctly in the first place. He was different from how he remembered. Maybe he never remembered correctly in the first place. 

“Alright, fine. I’m sorry for not listening. What were you saying?” 

Coby seemed taken aback by the heel-face turn. He eyed Mao Mao suspiciously. “Why the sudden change?” 

“It will pass the time while we look for an exit,” Mao Mao said.

“You mean look for Tanner,” Coby said.

“Yeah, sorry, look for Tanner is what I should’ve said.” 

Orangusnake pulled back and narrowed his eyes. “What has gotten into you?”

“Nothing. Noting at all,” Mao Mao lied.

He wasn’t going to tell Orangusnake the truth. He wasn’t going to tell him that when Jǐngtì was born Mao Mao constantly told himself he’d be different from Shin. He wasn’t going to tell him that he quite literally regurgitating the same meaningless lines Shin used. Mao Mao would’ve laughed at the irony if self-hatred wasn’t boiling in his stomach. 

“I was talking about my crew.” 

“What does the rest of the Sky Pirates have to do with anything?” 

“Everything! They’re why we’re stuck down here.” 

“They are?” 

“Yes. Weren’t you listening?” 

“Sorry?” 

Oragusnake rolled his eyes and gagged. “And stop being so apologetic. It’s weird.” 

“Sorry,” slipped out of Mao Mao’s lips before he even realized it.   
Orangusnake sighed and brushed it aside. “As I was saying, this is all the fault of my crew.” 

“How?” 

“Because they weren’t listening!” 

“What do you mean?” 

“They just don’t listen! I say to do this, they do that. I tell them to do one thing and they do something else.”

Maybe you should try being more clear with your directions?” 

“It’s not that they don’t understand. It's that they just don’t follow directions. It’s like they just want to spite me.” 

“Then I don’t know what to tell you? If they don’t want to listen then they don’t. I can’t really help you with that.”

“What about your team? Why do they listen to you?” 

That question made Mao Mao stumble, figuratively, and literally. Mao Mao managed to break his fall before he smashed his head against the rocks, although it was a second before he got back up. He was distracted by the hundreds of thoughts that flashed through his head in an instant. The first answer that came to mind was that they listened to him because he was reliable. However, even he knew that wasn’t the answer. If anything he’s the one relying on them. To take care of Adorabat, to take him to the hospital, to fix the house, to even watch his son. The next reason why they might listen to him is because of his experience, but the only thing he has experience with is failing everybody around him. Why did they listen to him?

“I don’t know,” Mao Mao answered in a voice barely above a whisper.

“What’d you say,” Coby asked.

“Nothing, just a grunt of pain,” he lied, making his stomach boil all over again. “Actually, I said I don’t know.” 

“You don’t know what?” 

“I don’t know why they listen to me.” 

“Oh… well, don’t ask me. I don't know why they follow you either- urk!”

Mao Mao pinched Coby’s mouth close with his hand after having stabbed a glowing Geraldine into the ground. He closed his eyes, listening to something. Underneath the sound of their conversation, underneath the ambient sound of the stream by their feet was something else. A quiet chatter; like someone absently muttering to themselves, or the grind of teeth. Soon, Mao Mao’s eyes could make out a vague shape in the darkness. It was not something Mao Mao released his hand from the snake’s mouth, resting it comfortably on Geraldine’s hilt. 

When the creature finally got close enough he pulled out Geraldine and swung at the figure, however, he stopped just short of slicing off an Orangutan’s head. 

Mao Mao jumped in surprise when Coby freed himself from his waist, traveled up his sword, and wrapped himself around the Orangutan. Mao Mao watched the two, he heard them say things, but the words were lost somewhere in the confusion of watching a snake and Orangutan kiss. It was then that Mao Mao realized something  _ Orangusnake: _ Orangutan - Snake. He assumed the name had some meaning but didn’t expect its meaning to be so literal.

“So, you just let him guide you? You let him fight for you and do basically everything at his whim?”

“Yeah,” Coby, err Orangusnake said unironically. 

“So you’re willing to let him risk your life because you trust him?” 

“Yeah.” 

Mao Mao squinted his eyes and had his mouth hanging open like a fish. He didn’t move until he cocked his head to the side as he felt some sort of answer starting to form. The relationship Tanner had with Coby was similar to one of his own. The reason why Coby let Tanner control his movements and why Badgerclops and Adorabat followed his lead was the same, and it was the lack of that reason that made Jǐngtì so rebellions. But, what was the reason? 

Mao Mao racked his brain, forcing the gears in his head to turn. He could feel an answer coming. It was right in front of him, yet it was like the steam from a teapot. Something you could briefly feel if you reached out, but would always disappear leaving a vague notion of what it was. He’d probably be able to grasp the answer if it wasn’t for that chattering!

Mao Mao’s eyes shot open. Mao Mao took his sword out of the ground to rest it on his shoulder. Orangusnake noticed this and was about to say something before Mao Mao glared at him, scaring him to silence real quick. The chatter hadn’t disappeared. The noise surrounded them like a barely audible whisper. He assumed it was Tanner making that chattering noise, but he was wrong. They weren’t alone in these caves.

Something approached and Mao Mao thrust his sword forward, stumbling when it glanced off the ant’s exoskeleton. It was large and red, like a fire ant, but its eyes glowed a furious yellow. Coby screamed and to Tanner’s credit he quickly moved as the ants began to swarm. No point in fighting a losing battle. Mao Mao joined them, running blind in the darkness. 

The ants came out in droves, following them with their mandibles chattering and chomping at the air. Mao Mao cursed his hubris. There wasn’t a cave system underneath the valley, but an entire ant colony. Certainly, a problem that should be dealt with, but that would come later. Right now, he followed Orangusnake up a rocky slope. The slope grew steeper and steeper until they were scaling a vertical wall. 

“We’re almost there,” Orangusnake shouted,” just keep moving. 

Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one climbing with one arm. Mao Mao held Geraldine with his tail, doing his best to climb the wall, but claws don’t work on stone. He reached the top, grabbing onto the rocky ledge only to have it crumble under his fingers. The air was beginning to whistle past his ears when Orangusnake snatched him by the wrist. He pulled him over the ledge. 

The two, perhaps three depending on how you count, stopped to catch their breath. 

“Let’s never do that again,” Orangusnake insisted.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Mao Mao huffed,” and Orangusnnake…” 

“What?” 

“Thanks for saving me.” 

Orangusnake stared at him for a solid second before pretending to retch,” that was so sweet I feel like I’m going to die of diabetes.” 

“Well, I know what to do the next time you try to take the Ruby Pure Heart,” Mao Mao said. 

Orangusnake mimicked vomiting before turning his attention to the path ahead. Mao Mao did the same when he noticed the echo of a gentle melody. Strange, but worth investigating. He and Orangusnake headed down the path as the music grew louder. Mao Mao had the feeling he heard the song before. He wanted to say at the thumb wrestling festival, but that couldn’t be it. Why would festival music be playing in the depths of a cave? Actually, a better question would be why is any music playing in the depths of a cave?

They came upon a massive ornate door. Gilded doorknobs and felt coverings and the works. If Mao Mao was an idiot, and he was in just a good enough mood to be one, he might have fantasized about whatever big phat reward waited for him. He looked to Orangusnake who gave him a nod and threw the door open.

Snugglemagne let out quite the undignified shriek. “Sheriff? What are you doing here,” he asked.

“What am I- what are  _ you  _ doing here?” 

“Practicing Harpsichord.” 

“20 feet underground in a sealed chamber?” 

“I’m very shy.” 

“What about the monsters?” 

“Overgrown pest, I’m afraid. I’ve laid out traps, but they don’t seem to be working.” 

“That’s because they’ve made a nest underneath the town!”

“Oh. Better get an exterminator then.” 

Mao Mao pinched the bridge of his nose. “Where’s the exit to this hellhole?” 

“You can’t miss it. About 60 yards back, up the steps, and through the secret passage.” 

* * *

The passage opened to the front of the castle. The sky was dark, only lit by stars and lightning bugs. Mao Mao was surprised to see the critters were still out; summer’s end was only a month or two away. Orangusnake took a deep breath of fresh air and stretched. It looked rather weird without the armor.

“Well that was a trail,” Orangusnake said,” I’ll be back for the Ruby Pure Heart some other time.” 

“You can try. Kill you later?” 

Orangusnake paused before repeating,” kill you later,” in confirmation as the two went their separate ways. 

* * * 

Mao Mao walked up the large hill back to HQ. His stomach growled and he hoped Badgerclops made actual food instead of a toast-tower again. It was just his luck that the one time Badgerclops doesn’t forget the Aerocycle is the only time Mao Mao would need it to get back. He went for the doorknob to find it locked. He went for his keys only to find them gone. With no other choice, he knocked on the door. 

He could hear voices on the other side and it was another second before the door actually opened. Mao Mao couldn’t tell who was more surprised to see the other person: him or Jǐngtì.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected meeting will surely have unexpected consequences  
Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: Anything But The Breakfast Club


	15. Anything But The Breakfast Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home is supposed to be a comfortable place, but hostility fills the air. Mao Mao and his son have never really gotten along, why is that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what chapter I'll post next. I want to do another one of these, but I also need to write another chapter for my NSFW fanfic. On a personal note, I've started Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. I've been trying to an Oni in the first dungeon, but Demon Negotiations are dumb and I hate them. Also got Fall Guys which is somehow more calming. Per the usual credits to Spookylovesboba and enjoy the chapter.

He and Jǐngtì stared at each other for a long moment. Mao Mao stood on the porch, his mouth gaping open like a fish, wondering if the world stopped spinning or was it just him. First, Jǐngtì raised his eyebrows in confusion, then he grit his teeth in anger. He didn’t hesitate to slam the door in his father’s face. Mao Mao was too stunned to stop it. It probably would have slammed if Badgerclops didn’t catch it. 

“Don’t do that. The hinges don’t fit- oh,” his words dropped off when he noticed Mao Mao. “Hey, can you stir the pot, so the food doesn’t burn?” 

Jǐngtì looked up to Badgerclops then to Mao Mao before turning around with a sneer. Mao Mao watched him disappear into the kitchen. What was he doing here? Jǐngtì held too much spite to make an innocent visit. Another thing Jǐngtì got from his father. 

“Mao Mao.” 

“Huh?” 

“Are you going to come inside,” Badgerclops asked. 

“Yeah, sure.” 

Mao Mao took the first step. His paw hit the ground, but it didn’t hold any weight. He would’ve smashed his nose against the ground if Badgerclops hadn’t caught him. Even then, it was still a second before Mao Mao realized he wasn’t standing upright. 

“You good?” 

“Yeah, I’m just… sinkhole stuff, you know?” 

“No.” 

“Oh. I guess you had to be there to get it.” 

“Are you okay?” 

“No, but I’m fine.” 

Badgerclops gave an unconvinced nod as he followed Mao Mao inside. Mao Mao immediately went about making sure everything was okay. There wasn’t a net hidden in the rafters, no pressure plate waiting on the floor, no tripwires tied to the walls. Just the smell of spices wafting from the kitchen. Was that a ploy to cover up the smell of something else? He slowly peeked over the couch to find Adorabat watching cartoons. The cartoon wasn’t even something odd, it was just normal. As normal as a talking crab running on a treadmill could be. 

“Hey Mao Mao,” she said,” what are you doing?” 

“Oh, just, making sure everything’s fine.” 

“Everything’s not fine.” 

Mao Mao leaped over the couch. “What’s wrong?” 

“The remote’s batteries are dead.” 

Mao Mao sighed and moved his hand away from Geraldine. “Hey, Badgerclops, you got any spare batteries?” 

“Hold on. They're around here somewhere.”

Badgerclops went away to sift through the new shelf he made, leaving Mao Mao and Adorabat at the couch. Mao Mao knew she could get pretty engrossed in cartoons, but Adorabat had been unusually quiet. She was looking at the TV, but she fidgeted and he could hear mumbles slip out. 

“Are you okay,” he asked.

“Oh, it's just… I mean he’s here… you can get kinda…” 

Mao Mao was about to tell her to use her words until he realized two things. One: she did use words, albeit poorly. Two: this wasn’t the time to be patronizing. She kicked her feet and twiddled her wings. What was bothering her? She said ‘he’s here’ so what did she mean? Badgerclops the only other guy here, and his relationship with Mao Mao was complicated, but fine. Unless she was referring to... 

Mao Mao rolled his eyes at himself for not realizing it sooner. He sighed and sat down next to Adorabat, putting a reassuring arm over her shoulder. “I know that Jǐngtì and I fight sometimes, but things will be fine.” 

“But-,” she started before Mao Mao stopped her. 

He calmly held her wing. “Everything will be fine, trust me.”

Adorabat still seemed unsure, but it was enough to make her give Mao Mao a hug before she went back to cartoons. The gears in Mao Mao’s head were turning once again. The elusive answer was just inches away. Badgerclops and Adorabat listened to him because 

“I found the batteries.” 

Like that the answer was gone. And he’d been so close to it too!

“Thank you, Badgerclops,” he said, taking the batteries, slapping them into the remote and handing it to Adorabat. 

“You're welcome,” Badgerclops said. 

Did he not get the sarcasm?

“Hey,” Jǐngtì called from the kitchen,” can I stop stirring this now?” 

“Oh dear,” Badgerclops said as he headed into the kitchen with Mao Mao on his heels. 

The kitchen looked a little different thanks to Badgerclops redecorating. A new utensil rack, new dishwasher, and a new stove that Jǐngtì was only able to reach thanks to Mao Mao’s step stool. He stirred the pot with a large wooden spoon. Mao Mao could tell from the tomato smell that they were having garden soup tonight. 

“When do I stop stirring,” Jǐngtì asked.

“When it looks done,” Badgerclops answered. 

“And when is that?” 

Badgerclops stopped chopping vegetables and went over to him. “You never learned how to cook?” 

“Prison, remember. Food was given, not made.” 

Badgerclops eyebrows creased uncomfortably, but Jǐngtì didn’t notice. He kept speaking with casual indifference. 

“They’d always just put a bowl of something. Once a day, every day.” 

“They only fed you once a day?” 

“Yeah. I still eat once a day, still. Eating three meals a day seems kind of excessive to me, I mean-”

He finally stopped when Badgerclops put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at Badgerclops, unable to see a problem.

“You can stop stirring it's done now,” Badgerclops sighed. 

“I’ll get the bowls then.”

* * *

Despite Badgerclops’ expectations, it wasn’t a quiet dinner. The soup was a little thin, but it was good. It was late so there was an entire day to talk about. Everyone spoke their fair share. Although, there was one issue: Jǐngtì refused to talk to his father. No matter how enthusiastic Jǐngtì was in the conversation, no matter how much Jǐngtì twiddled his thumbs, he would never speak to Mao Mao. He’d direct no comments or answer any questions. 

By the time everyone had finished their food he still had yet to say a word. 

“So Orangusnake is two people,” Badgerclops asked.

Mao Mao nodded. 

“And they’re dating?” 

Mao Mao nodded again. 

“Were they were fused in, like, some sort of freak accident.” 

“Nope. Coby just sits on Tanner’s shoulders.” 

Badgerclops leaned back in his chair, processing the information before he let out a bemused “huh”. “Did you know Orangusnake was two people?” 

Jǐngtì made a so-so gesture. “I guessed, but I wasn’t sure. I do my best to ignore them all when I’m in the junkyard. I still can’t tell you the giraffe’s name. “

“It’s Ramaraffe,” Adorabat yawned. 

Mao Mao scratched her behind the ears before picking her up. “That’s enough. Time to go to bed for you.” 

Mao Mao headed off with Adorbat in his arm, leaving Jǐngtì and Badgerclops alone. Jǐngtì usual expression softened when his father left. The straight line that was a blend of contempt and apathy fell apart to something softer. There  _ Beeps!  _ and  _ Boops!  _ as Jǐngtì started to play on with the Ducky-Gatchi. 

“You really like that don’t you,” Badgerclops said.

“Eh, it's alright. It gives me something to do. Would be better if I didn’t have to pick up from someone else’s save.” 

“That’s Mao Mao’s. He spent all morning playing on it.” 

“I thought this was Adorabat’s.” 

“It is, but Mao Mao got into it. Did you know he’s a fan of Lucky Ducky? He actually bought the Ducky-Gatchi that's boxed over there.” 

“I was wondering what that was for.” 

“Your father’s a  _ really  _ big fan. He spent a grand to get the thing.” 

Jǐngtì grimaced. “He’ll spend 1K for that, and nothing for me,” he mumbled.

Badgerclops kicked himself for being too careless. Things fell into an awkward silence. The only sound other than the Ducky-Gatchi was Badgerclops drumming his fingers on the table.The awkwardness wouldn’t go away until they loosened up and Badgerclops had just the thing in mind. He got up from his chair and went into the kitchen. He searched through the fridge until he found the 6-pack of beers. Badgerclops pulled out on for himself, one for Jǐngtì, he hesitated, but figured it’d be okay, and pulled one for Mao Mao. 

He went back to the table to find that Mao Mao was back. Jǐngtì scowled at his father, who stood over his chair unsure. “How’s Adorabat,” Badgerclops asked.

“Hm, oh she’s asleep,” he said.

“Good. Here.” 

Badgerclops placed the can of beer in front of Mao Mao and slid the other can to Jǐngtì. Badgerclops had turned his hand into a can opener and was about to drink when he noticed Mao Mao and Jǐngtì raising their eyebrows at him. 

“What?” 

“Did you just give me beer,” Jǐngtì asked.

“Yeah?” 

“You know I’m underage, right?” 

“Nah, the drinking age in the Valley is 18.” 

“Do- do you know how old I am?” 

“Like 18, right?” Badgerclops said.

“Mao Mao was 18 when I was born. He’s 31 now. How old am I?” 

Badgerclops knew the answer immediately. It was simple subtraction, yet he still set the beer down to count on his fingers. He did the math once, and then did it again. He pulled up the calculator app and did the math there. He got the right answer, but it couldn’t be right. 

“There’s no way you’re 13.” 

“But I am.”

“But you’re voice is deep and you’re almost as tall as Mao Mao.”

“I’m just tall I guess, and my voice is… another thing.”

“Is he 13,” Badgerclops asked Mao Mao.

Mao Mao slowly nodded.

“Holy-fucking-shit, you’re 13,” he said quietly, stumbling from the realization. 

The pieces of the puzzle fit together to form a horrifying picture. Everything made sense. Why Tanya was so mad. Why Mao Mao never talked about it. Why Jǐngtì was so aloof. He was a kid. He still is a kid! He was an emotionally stunted kid! Ths shock gave way to something much worse with the next realization. He and Tanya split up after Jǐngtì went to jail. That was 5 years ago. Mao Mao abandoned his 8-year-old kid. No wonder Tanya despised Mao Mao, Badgerclops was beginning to despise him too. 

“Are you okay,” Mao Mao asked.

Badgerclops felt the inclination to turn it back to him and ask  _ Are you okay!  _ but set it aside. He couldn’t set it aside completely. He must have been wearing his anger on his face. Mao Mao stared at the ground unable to look Badgerclops in the eye. It was very convenient that the phone began to ring. Badgerclops had nothing to say to that man.

* * *

Despite what you may expect Mao Mao believed in a God. There had to be some sort of higher power in control of everything. How else could happiness be snatched away from him so quickly? Mao Mao was sure that there was a higher power; He was even more sure that it hated him. Mao Mao slowly walked into the office. The ringing grew thunderously loud as he approached. Mao Mao knew it was all in his head. He just didn’t want to answer it. Why would he? There isn’t a single person in this world who wants to talk to him. No family, no friends. If he had either of those things anymore. 

Mao Mao shook his head. He was stalling. The phone had already rung four times. It’d only be three, maybe four more, until it went voicemail. He wouldn’t have to do anything. Just stand here. Against his better judgment, he picked it up anyway.

“Hello,” he asked. 

“Mao Mao?” 

It was Tanya.

Oh shit. He felt woozy and queasy. Was he having another stroke? He firmly planted his feet, but the ground didn’t come rushing at him. God couldn’t even give him a stroke when he needed one. 

“Mao Mao,” she asked again.

“Yeah, how was-” 

“I can’t find Jǐngtì.”

“You can’t find-?” 

“I’ve looked everywhere. He’s not at any of old hideouts putland didn’t capture him, I can’t find-” 

“I know where he is.” 

There was a pause. He could hear Bao Bao bark on the other end. He couldn’t even muster the energy to be mad.

“Where is he?” 

“Here’s here.”

“He‘s still in the valley?” 

“No, I mean he’s literally in the other room.” 

There was another pause. 

“Put him on the phone,” she said

Mao Mao wanted to say he was fine or something like that, but he couldn’t find the words to argue. No point in telling a transparent lie. “Hold on.” 

Mao Mao set the phone on the desk. He took a shaky breath. What was his problem? It's just a mother wanting to talk to her son. So why was he so terrified? He trudged his way to the kitchen. Jǐngtì and Badgerclops were still sitting there, but it was obvious neither had said a word. Badgerclops spared him a glance; Jǐngtì didn’t even do that.

“Your mother’s on the phone,” he said.

That got Jǐngtì’s head to turn. “What,” he asked.

“Your mother’s on the phone,” he repeated.

Jǐngtì kept staring at him. He seemed stuck. 

“You should talk to her,” Badgerclops chimed in.

Jǐngtì considered this before getting out of his chair. He didn’t say anything. He just followed Mao Mao to the office. He picked up the phone, but his eyes lingered on him. 

Mao Mao left at his silent behest. He sat just outside the door with his back to the wall. The torrent of emotions raged inside him. He could feel overwhelming sadness, chilling fear, burning anger, and deepest regret. 

“Hi mom,” Jǐngtì croaked. 

It felt like all the wind had been knocked out of him. No matter how much he strained his ears he could only make out bits and pieces of what Jǐngtì said, let alone anything on the other line. He could make out a few things like “Yeah”, “Okay” an -”fine”. What Mao Mao wouldn’t give to hear the rest. 

Mao Mao was so lost in thought he didn’t know Jǐngtì was done until he was walking past him. Mao Mao jumped to his feet. Jǐngtì’s eyes looked red and puffy. He didn't even have the usual look on his face. Instead, it was something sullen and dejected. 

Mao Mao knew he should have said something, but he second-guessed. He’d just make things worse like always. 

Jǐngtì walked right back into the kitchen with Mao Mao on his heels.

Bagderclops from his beer. “What’d she say?” 

“She said she’s picking me up next week.” 

“Oh.. you can stay here for the time being.” 

Jǐngtì shook his head. “I’ll… figure something out.” 

Badgerclops got out of his chair. “Are you sure? Do you have a place to stay? Food to eat?” 

“Why are you suddenly treating me like a child?” 

“You are a child.”

Mao Mao stood off to the side, watching Badgerclops parent his kid. What was he supposed to do? The only thing he was good at was fighting monsters, and he wasn’t even particularly good at that. He needed something to do but had nothing to do, so instinct took over. He grabbed Geraldine and headed to the dojo for mindless training when he realized he didn’t even want to do that. He found himself heading to the door. 

“Where are you going,” Badgerclops asked.

Mao Mao paused, deciding honesty was the best policy. “...I don’t know,” he said, closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: D-spair


	16. D-Spair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [REDACTED]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter does come out on Friday, who would've expected that? Me, cause I stayed up till 3 last night finishing this up. those that red my NSFW fics will know Roshi came out on Fighterz and I think he's dope. I got his BnB down, but his sauceier stuff is IMPOSSIBLE. Well, I complain to y'all some other time.   
Song Rec: Minecraft music disc - 11

The chilly wind rolled over the grass and blew through Mao Mao’s fur. Maybe living out in the middle of these hills wasn’t the best idea. The lack of vegetation meant no heat was locked in making night terribly cold. Mao Mao didn’t mind. It was like the cold chill of eating a mint wrapped around his entire body. He could focus on that instead of the thoughts swimming in his head. 

Mao Mao sat himself down on a grassy knoll, far, far from home. From here, he could see the entire kingdom. The forest stretched on like an endless sea of trees. The junkyard was dark and quiet as his enemies slept. HQ was just a tiny yellow dot he could barely see. The city slept quietly with the sweetipies. The Ruby Pure Heart itself, sat atop the spire emanating a perverse pink glow.

Strange. It didn’t always do that, did it? He scratched his chin wondering if it was also glowing during the day. Regardless, it was certainly bright as shit tonight. Speaking of light pollution Mao Mao looked up. It was easy to forget that the night sky was not actually black. It sang in hues of deep purple and blue. It was beautiful. Just not beautiful enough. 

Terrible thoughts kept intruding on his peace. They whispered in his ear how much everyone hates him. How he hurt Tanya and Jǐngtì: his own family. How he was irresponsible and irredeemable. Given enough time he was sure he’d hurt Adorabat too. It's not like he can do anything else.

Maybe it was time to move on. He could pack his things and hit the road again, leave his problems here and see what else he could screw up in other parts of the world. He couldn’t stay here. The guilt was just too much to bear; it was physically painful. He clutched the severed stump of his arm from the fiery pain, pulling his hand black to see if it was bleeding despite it long being healed. The fresh wound in his stomach hurt with a nauseating pain that felt like it was bleeding again. 

Maybe he deserved the pain. No. He definitely deserved the pain. It didn’t compare to half of the things he’s inflicted on others. Mao Mao fell back, lying in the grass as he pondered. What is justice? If he hazard a guess he would say  _ wrong actions being punished _ . But what is wrong? Stealing is wrong, and thus deserves to be punished, but what is punishment? It's apparently not straightforward. Stealing is wrong, but you can’t apply the same punishment to two different people, otherwise, justice becomes wrong, and… what then? Who or what becomes justice? 

Maybe his father was right not to keep him out of it. He couldn’t even wrap his mind around the basic concepts, let alone do his job well, although it's not like he has the skills to do anything else. Maybe that’s why everything he does goes wrong. Because he is wrong. 

It was a sobering thought. It felt kind of like a cold splash of water, or maybe a punch to the face he didn’t stop. He was wrong; he was the Villain of this story, but if that were the case, then who's the Hero?

There was something hovering in front of his face, or maybe it was someone. It was a face, but it was blank and featureless, masterfully crocheted out of pink string or twine. Despite this, Mao Mao never moved. Was this sleep paralysis? He hadn’t had it happen to him since childhood, but it would be disgustingly on brand for it to show up now, and he supposed that this was his sleep paralysis demon. To give credit to his own mind, it was rather unsettling. The stings shifted as it pulled back its arm and brandished its claws, five fingers that ended in needle fine points. 

The claw came rushing at him, judging from the trajectory, it was going for his neck. The masochist in him welcomed this, he folded his arms over his chest and waited for the hallucination to be over. The claw came rushing at him, judging from the trajectory, it was going for his neck. Sleep paralysis rarely lasts more than a second, after all, but Mao Mao noticed something odd. 

How’d he move his arms?

This was supposed to be sleep  _ Paralysis _ . He wiggled his ears just to be sure, and yep, he could still move. If he could move then that means that this wasn’t sleep paralysis and if this wasn’t sleep paralysis then that thing wasn’t a hallucination, and the claw coming at his neck was very real. 

The claws cleaved the dirt where once was. He had rolled to the side, springing to his feet with a sword in his only hand. It was only a graze, but he could feel blood dripping down his neck. The monster followed him with its eyeless face, it cocked its head to the sides, as if confused, before standing up on the spindly spikes it called legs. 

It stepped forward to take another swipe. Mao Mao pulled at Geraldine, finding her stuck in her sheath. He neglected to take care of her, and now he was paying for it. The demon swiped again, but Mao Mao stabbed Geraldine into the ground and tugged with a step forward. Geraldine cleaved a golden arc across the monster’s chest. 

Instead of being sprayed with blood, Mao Mao was met with strings like he cut into a pillow. The monster stumbled back, but the string moved of its own accord. They moved like worms, knotting themselves together and wrapping themselves back up. The monster fell forward, whatever damage he’d done was already gone. Was the wound too shallow? 

The monster kept swinging, Mao Mao blocked high, he blocked low. He parried at his midsection and stabbed forward. His sword went straight through, he could see the frayed string, but something was wrong. There wasn’t a change in feel. He didn’t break the skin, bite into muscle, pierce through organs, and back out the other side. 

It was just more string. 

The frayed bits of string began to mend. It was healing around the sword! Mao Mao jostled his sword, wiggling it free, and falling back. He scrambled back to his feet away from the claws that raked the dirt. It was hard to move. So hard. His fur stood on end, Geraldine shook in his hands, and there was a searing pain in his side. He’d heard that rain could aggravate old wounds, but the stars were almost as bright as the Ruby Pure Heart. The only other reason an old wound would be aching was if the one who gave it was nearby, but that… might not be totally impossible.

Mao Mao squinted, trying to get a good look. He might’ve seen it before. The only things that came to mind were vague half-drunken memories. He’s been blackout drunk many times, but the fact the aching hole in his side did give Mao Mao a clue. Badgerclops did hint at something else happening that day. First, he fought Jǐngtì. After that, he fought Shin Mao. Finally, he fought this… thing.

What was standing in front of him now was an indescribable existence. What was he supposed to do? Every time the strings would sew themselves together like God was stitching it himself. The monster stepped forward and Mao Mao stepped back. What else was he supposed to do? His hero training had no advice, and even if it did Mao Mao was sure he’d fuck it up like everything else. He kept backing away, stumbling over his own tail. What was wrong with him. Sweat pooled inside his gloves, he could hear his heart thundering in his head, and it was getting hard to breathe. Was this a stroke? Was his wish coming at the worst possible time?

No. This was a primal childish urge that made his teeth chatter, his pulse rise to the heavens, and heart sink to the depths. 

It was fear. 

Mao Mao was used to soldiering through things with balls bursting with bravado, and if that couldn’t work then anger usually sufficed but this... He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t fight this. This featureless creature shambling towards him wasn’t a monster. It was something out of those scary stories he read under the blanket at night. It was something out of a Mr. Din Danalin horror movie. It was an unkillable demon that belonged in nightmares. He wanted to lash out. To strike this thing down, but he could barely stand. 

All he could do was hold his sword in his mouth, get down on all fours, and run. 

* * *

Badgerclops sat on the couch. There was nothing odd about that; what was odd was what he was doing. He didn’t have the controller in his hands. The TV wasn’t even on. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, resting his chin on clasped together hands. He was thinking about what to do. Jǐngtì was sleeping in the other room and he didn’t know what to do with the boy next. Probably wait for Tanya to get him, but getting him to stay one night was a task and a half. Then there’ Mao Mao. Badgerclops rubbed his temples and groaned. What to do with  _ that  _ dumpster-fire?  Jǐngtì wouldn’t tolerate being under the same roof as him, so Mao Mao couldn’t stay at HQ. On the other hand, Badgerclops  _ really  _ didn’t want to let him out of his sight. That was a problem waiting to happen. 

The front door slammed shut. Badgerclops looked up to see Mao Mao scurrying into the bedroom. Badgerclops extended his arm with a sigh, picking the cat up and holding him out in front of him. 

“You certainly took your sweet-” 

Badgerclops stopped himself short. There was something off about Mao Mao. More off than usual, at least. His fur was puffed up, he stank of sweat, and his chest was still heaving. His arms were clutched close to his chest. He held his sword in one hand, but the sheath wasn’t at his hip. 

“What happened,” Badgerclops asked. 

“There’s a demon outside,” he croaked. 

Color him surprised, Mao Mao came across a monster he couldn’t kill. It would’ve been funny if the idea of something like that wasn’t so viscerally terrifying. Badgerclops got up from the couch to peek through the curtains. It was oddly pink outside, which was weird, but there was nothing there. He checked the window near the door and the checked backyard kitchen window. At that point Badgerclops was confident enough to step onto the porch and look around. 

Still pink. Still nothing. 

“I don’t see any monster,” he said.

“Not a monster. A demon,” Mao Mao corrected.

Badgerclops folded his arms. “I know that you know there’s no such thing as a demon.” 

“What? Demons exist. There was literally one outside.”

Badgerclops huffed a sigh. He knew the cat was a lot of things: depressed, violent, traumatized, horrible for starters. Might as well add superstitious to that list. He leaned closer to Mao Mao, looking at the side of his sclera. There were frazzled red veins poking out from the side. 

“I think you just had a nightmare,” Badgerclops said,” don’t sleep outside, dude.” 

“What? I didn’t have a nightmare-” 

Badgerclops thrust a finger to his lips. “Shhh, your son is sleeping in the other room.” 

Mao Mao slowed to a stop, quickly diverting his eyes to the floor. Badgerclops pulled away only to reach for Mao Mao when he tried to poke his head into the bedroom. “Don’t go back there! I barely got him to go to bed.” 

“He’s not there.” 

Badgerclops head snapped up. “What?” 

“He’s not there,” Mao Mao repeated. 

“What do you mean he’s not there.” 

“Jǐngtì… he’s… not here.” 

Badgerclops pushed Mao Mao out of the way. The blankets on the bottom bunk had been thrown aside; a cold draft blew through the open window. Badgerclops slammed it shut with a loud  _ Slam! _ . A mistake. He forgot Adorabat was still sleeping. He could hear the child mumble, but Mao Mao scratched her behind the ears and lulled her back to sleep. 

Badgerclops pinched the bridge of his nose. It was late, he was tired, and he was letting frustration win. He looked up when Mao Mao placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. 

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” 

Badgerclops slowly turned to face him. The frustration he just forced down was boiling back up. He stood up, took a deep breath, and was  _ this  _ close to yelling before he caught himself. He grabbed Mao Mao and dragged him out of the bedroom, into the living room, and into the kitchen where he was sure he wouldn’t disturb Adorabat.

“What’s going-”

He cut Mao Mao off. “What the hell is wrong with you,” he hissed,” it doesn’t matter how capable you think he is! He’s still a child! You don’t just let them do what they want! You don’t let him room with criminals, you don’t let him wander off on his own, and you don’t put him in jail. He’s barely old enough to play outside without adult supervision. You can be as weird and fucked up as you want, but don’t push the same shit onto your kid.” 

Mao Mao stepped back, finding himself trapped in between a corner and an angry badger. Badgerclops didn’t know what to expect from Mao Mao. It certainly wasn’t for Mao Mao’s emotions to boil over and leak out in the form of tears. Immediately, Badgerclops felt like shit.

“Listen, Mao Mao,” he started, but couldn’t finish. 

“No. No. It's fine… I’m… I’m…” 

Mao Mao stepped past Badgclops. He trudged his way to the couch and listlessly fell onto it. He grabbed his cape and pulled it over his head like it was a blanket. Mao Mao stayed there, a little curled up dough ball, quietly crying itself to sleep. 

Badgerclops sat at the kitchen table and put his hands on his face. 

What to do? What to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: Dady's Home


	17. Daddy's Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Badgerclops goes to look for Jǐngti, leaving Mao Mao at home when he gets an unexpected guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter would've been out sooner if NaNaWriMo didn't start this month. Been busy planning out a novel and stuff. Will I finish it? Who knows! Might do an NSFW fic chapter, not too sure. I've been playing more Guilty Gear XX Accent Core+R because it's doing a rollback beta test on PC. I'm apparently maining Sol Badguy because Leo isn't the game. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and the music rec this time will be Same in the End - Sublime. An oldy, but a song that's on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 so I've been binging it.

“Jǐngti,” Badgerclops shouted as he wandered through the forest with Adorabat resting on his head. 

“Jǐngtì,” shouted Adorabat soon after. 

Badgerclops suppressed a sigh, wondering how much longer this would take. He’s been walking through the forest that surrounds the hills since early this morning. His fur was covered in a thin veneer of sweat, and his knees were starting to hurt. Would Jǐngtì even come out if he heard them? Was he even in the forest? He could be in the junkyard, in the town something or who knows how many other places. There was an entire kingdom to sift through! This hasn’t been a waste of time from the start, has it?

Badgerclops kicked a rock in the mud with the realization that this was all pointless. But what else could he do? Not looking for a child who had run away in the night? Badgerclops picked up the pebble he kicked, reeled back his arm, and threw it into the procession of trees. He half expected to hear Jǐngtì say “ow” as the rock hit on the head, but he heard nothing but the vast emptiness of the forest. 

There weren't any fortuitous accidents to be had here. Just misery. 

“What are you doing,” Adorabat asked. 

Oh damn. He forgot she was there. 

“It's nothing,” he said. 

Acrobat didn’t seem convinced. She settled back down on Badgerclops head with a noncommittal grunt. Badgerclops kept walking, and Adorbat kept making sounds. Usually grunts or maybe a whispered word. Was she thinking? First time he’s seen her try so hard at it. He wouldn’t wish her any luck though. There’s no reason a child should be trying to put together such a macabre puzzle. She probably wouldn’t be able to anyway. She was asleep for most of last night, so her puzzle was missing a few pieces. Even if she had all the pieces there wouldn’t be any way a child’s mind could get the full grasp of what was going on, right?  
“What’s that mean?” 

Badgerclops looked up at Adorabat with an eyebrow raised. 

“You said something about a child’s puzzle?” 

It appeared that he was just as lost in thought as Adorabat. Badgerclops wiped the sweat from his brow. This Sisyphean task had gone on too long. Although, Badgerclops wasn’t sure he needed to. Jǐngtì had his father’s blood coursing through his veins; he was bound to show up with another problem on his heels. It was time for Sisyphus to get a break and go back to HQ. Mao Mao would probably still be curled up on the couch, but he could never be too sure about that man. 

Badgerclops looked around. There was grass at his feet and a crowd of trees in every direction. He was lost as fuck. It had to be this damn forest. And all this damn walking! Exercise has never done him well. What to do? Badgerclops tapped his finger until he had a lightbulb that promptly went out. He has a GPs system in the works but he never actually got around to setting it up. Damn you procrastination.  Time to the bust out old reliable: climbing to a high place and hoping for the best!

What high place, was now the question. Badgerclops looked up at the pine trees that pierced the sky. He could climb those… but that was exercise and got a hard pass. What other pieces of geography could he take advantage of? Hmm, there were a series of hills that rose above the canopy, HQ was built on one, so maybe he’d be able to see it from one of those. He just needed to find one. 

“Hey, Adorabat. Fly up and tell me if you see any hills, okay.” 

“Okay!” 

Badgerclops watched her fly above the treetops into the sky when it hit him. “Did I forget she could fly?” 

“Hey, Badgerclops! I see something…  _ shiny _ .” 

Badgerclops could see Adorabat’s pupils dilate and chomp her teeth as base instincts take over. She began to fly off at frightful speeds. 

Badgerclops threw his head back and let out a loud groan. “It always exercises with you people,” he told no one in particular as he ran after her. 

He followed her to where the ground slanted, forcing Badgerclops to trudge up slowly with his knees. The slope went higher and higher until he broke past the tops of the conifers to the top of the ridge. An endless green sea stretched into the horizon. He could see the town in the East, HQ to the north, and Adorabat off to the side. 

He picked up the weird stick she was chewing on and pried Adorbat off like a leech. “We have got to get you a teething toy,” he said. 

Badgerclops was about to throw the weird stick away when he realized it wasn't a stick. It was already marked with teeth marks, red with a golden tip, and hollow. This wasn’t a stick. It was Mao Mao’s sheath. Why was it out here? Was this where Mao Mao was last night? 

What was that cat bastard doing?

* * *

Mao Mao ignored his grumbling stomach. He wasn’t in any mood to eat. He'd rather stay here, curled up on the couch, until the end of time. It was a good place. Soft. Warm. It was genuinely a good place, yet, why did he feel so miserable? His head was filled with fog, his body ached and every time he convinced himself to get up he suddenly felt everything escape him. His strength fled, his courage escaped, and will to keep going receded further back than it already had. He didn’t have Tanya. He didn't have Badgerclops. He didn’t have his son. He didn’t even have self-respect. How horrifying to know he could lose what little he had left. At least he still had the couch. 

Mao Mao was getting very comfortable with it too when there was a knock at the door. First, he thought it was Badgerclops, but he has a key. And if he forgot it he’d just spend a second to make one. It couldn’t be Adorabat. She’d sooner crash through the window than knock. 

“Hello? Is this the police,” said the voice. On any other day, Mao Mao might’ve answered the door, but right now he just rolled over. 

Mao Mao covered his ear best he could with one arm. 

“Excuse me? Is anyone there?” 

Mao Mao snuggled himself deeper into the cushions. 

“Please. My daughter is missing.” 

Mao Mao finally pried himself away from the cushions. Not out of concern or sympathy, he just couldn’t stand hearing this stranger bang against his door or his stupid, whiny, nasaly voice. His legs felt heavy from lack of use, or maybe that was hunger. He couldn’t tell. The floor seemed uneven making him stumble as he approached the door. He tripped, falling to his knees. He would’ve hit his face if he hadn’t stabbed Geraldine into the floorboards. Badgerclops wasn’t going to like that. 

Even then, he was forced to lean against it to catch his breath. 

“Hello,” said the other side. 

God! This dude’s voice made him want to tear his ears off. Mao Mao threw open the door, heaving for breath, leaning against the side of it to stand. He only says the usual expanse. The hill HQ rests on, the forest beneath the hills, and the town in the distance. Was he hearing voices? Sure, he wasn’t exactly taking care of himself, but he didn’t think he reached that point yet. 

“Are you the sheriff?” 

Mao Mao pointed his gaze down in the direction of the voice. He almost asked Adorabat what the hell she was doing when he squinted and took a closer look. It wasn’t Adorabat. Looked a lot like her though. A bat barely over a foot tall with a strange blue hue. A sweetiepie definitely, but one he’s never seen before. How strange. 

“Who are you, no, what are you here for,” Mao Mao asked. 

“My name is Eugene. I’m looking for my daughter-” Mao Mao tuned out after that. No need listening to him when he’s speaking a mile a minute. Eugene, huh. Weird name for a Sweetipie. He thought his name would be something weird like Gumball, or Flapjack, or even Parker. No, not Parker. That’d be too weird. Does he have a surname? Is it as weird as his first name? Mao Mao was going to ask when he realized Eugene was still talking.

“-can you help me?”

“No,” he said flatly. 

Eugene deflated with a pathetic sigh of defeat until Mao Mao spoke up again”-but Badgerclops, might.” 

“Where is Badgerclops,” Eugene stammered. 

“Out.” 

“Oh...Do you know when he’ll be back?” 

“No. Guess you gotta wait.” 

Mao Mao spun on his heels ready to crawl back on the couch and lie there for eternity, when he noticed the tiny little man walking past him. Strange, he didn’t remember inviting him in. The tiny little bastard sat down on the loveseat with the infuriating awkwardness of patience. 

Should he kick him? Probably? 

Will he ignore Eugene and just crawl back onto the couch? Definitely.

And crawl onto the couch he did. He climbed onto the couch, wrapping himself in his cape. He kicked Eugene to the side , earning a nasally whine from the fool, to create space and once he had it he curled up and went back to his misery. This misery was different from the benign wasting away he was doing before. It was something more embarrassing. He was being watched. It made him want to hide under the covers and be mistaken for a rock. Maybe if he was mistaken enough, he’d actually become one. 

“What's your name,” asked Eugene. 

Of course, this fool wanted to talk. Mao Mao released a heavy sigh,” Mao Mao.” 

“That’s a weird name.” 

Yesterday, Mao Mao probably would’ve kicked him in the face. Now, he didn’t have enough pride to do that. He should’ve expected that’d be a name in a place like this.

“So, what do you do here?” 

Mao Mao’s first instinct was to say sheriff, but that wasn’t really accurate anymore. “I make things worse,” he said. 

Eugene nodded and shifted unfortunately before settling into a comfortable silence. Unfortunately, it didn’t last too long. 

“You wouldn't have happened to see my daughter, would you?” 

Mao Mao let out a non-committal grunt. 

“She’s about a foot tall, blue, takes after her father that way, and cute as a button, but if I’m being totally honest, she scares me.” 

Mao Mao stiffened. He knew a certain child that he’d describe the exact same way… He sat up, turning to face Eugene. “Your daughter wouldn’t happen to also be kinda naive, have a taste for adventure, and be extremely loud?” 

“Yeah, she’s exactly like that.” 

Mao Mao sat there. Mouth hanging wide open as the horrible reality dawned on him. He thought Adorabat was an orphan or something. He thought she was a ward of the state. An orphan! This was like accidentally adopting someone’s pet except a thousand times worse! Eugene was Adorabat’s dad. Mao Mao hyperventilated as he thought. How would he explain this? Summer camp? No, summer’s coming to an end. An internship? No, she’s eight! They’d have to give her back. He couldn’t just keep the child here. It's not like he was fit to be a parent. 

Mao Mao stopped thinking, shocked by his own realization. 

He wasn’t fit to be a hero, let alone someone else’s caregiver. He couldn't even be a parent to his own child, god forbid anyone else’s. He was a mistake. A failure. He ruined everything he got his hands on. Like a lumbering beast that just How long would it be until he broke her too? Mao Mao took a deep breath. He wasn’t happy with what he had to do, but he was prepared to do what he must.

“Are you okay,” Eugene asked. 

He wished people would just stop asking him that. 

Both of them looked up when they heard something thump outside. 

“Ow, you’ve got to be careful with that.” 

That was Badgerclops. Was he and Adorabat back already? Oh geez, he hadn’t even had time to think what to say. 

And he would get no time. Badgerclops strolled in like nothing was wrong, but when Adorabat caught sight of Eugene it looked like she ate something sour. 

Immediately, Eugene rushed to his child

“I am so glad you’re safe,” Eugene said,” let’s go home.” 

“What? No. Let me go,” Adorabat said, pushing herself away. 

Badgerclops interviewed. Prying the two of them apart with ease. “What on earth is going on here,” Badgerclops asked. 

“Wha- what’s going on here? Have you two ruffians kidnapped my daughter?” 

“Wait- that’s not--” 

“That’s it. I’m calling the authorities.” 

Eugene pulled out his phone and dialed 911 only for the cell in Mao Mao’s pocket to go off. 

“Alright, before we call the cops on the cops, I need to know what the hells going on.”

“That’s… Adorabat’s dad,” Mao Mao told him. 

“I thought she was my conscious.” 

Weird thing to say, but Mao Mao set it aside for now. However, Eugene did not. “You’re conscious?” Eugene wriggled free with his daughter in tow. “That’s it. We’re leaving these crazies.” He said, carrying while Adorabat kicked and screamed. Eventually, Adorabat won. Shaking free from his grasp and continuing her tantrum with renewed vitriol and vigor. 

This wasn’t going well at all. He somehow accidentally kidnapped a kid, and he had just about called the cops on them. He’d be in jail if the justice system wasn’t so wack. Hell, he had half the mind to arrest himself. Why’d this have to happen? Why’d he ever get up from the couch to answer the door? He knew he should've stayed like that forever. 

Badgerclops turned him around without warning. A grim expression on his face. “What are we going to do?” 

What? Why are you asking him? You’re the one who made good decisions. He should be asking you!. Mao Mao began to hyperventilate. Sheer terror had him in its grasp and it was beginning to squeeze his throat. What to do? What to do? What could he do? He’s the one who never did anything right. Words escaped him, actions failed him. It's not like he could ignore Eugene and keep his kid. What could he do? 

He could only do what he thought was right. 

Mao Mao got up and marched towards Adorabat and Eugene. “What- what are you doing?” The words passed right over Mao Mao’s ears. He pushed Adorabat and her father right out the door and slammed it shut behind him, locking the locks, bolting the bolts, and putting his back against it. He could hear Adorabat scream and shout from the other side. It gradually grew quieter and quieter as her father pulled her away.

So that was that. The problem had been fixed. He’d done the right thing. So why did Mao Mao feel so… awful? He fell down to his knees and wrapped himself in his cape. Did the world really hate him that much? He’d give up doing anything, and the world literally brought a problem to his doorstep. He didn’t even do anything? Why did he deserve this? 

“Are you okay over there,” Badgerclops asked? 

Mao Mao dared not answered in fear of what way that’d turn back on him. He felt Badgerclops pick him up and lay him back down on the couch where Mao Mao promptly curled back up. Badgerclops stroked his ears, soothing Mao Mao like it would help anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite the different ending from the show, isn't it?   
Thanks for the read, leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated. Bookmark to stay updated and I'll see you guys next time.  
Next Chapter's Title: The Second Verse is the Same as the First   
(try figuring out what that one means)


End file.
